Concerned about the negative academic gaps,that arises due to the COVID-19 pandemic, where pupils and students education is grossly impeded,the lawmaker representing Ifako Ijaiye constituency II at the Lagos Assembly, has bankrolled a radio class partnership with Jordan 105.5 FM to help school goers amongst his constituents.
The lawmaker Hon.Rasheed Makinde,notes that the radio session will run till when the scourge of the virus subsides and lockdown of schools relaxed.
According to him,the Coronavirus pandemic has been taking its’ toll mostly on the public school students.
He said,”private school owners already have measures put in place to ensure their students are well captured,and to continue their studies via the use of Information Communication Technology, ICT medium to beat time and cover maximally their curriculum.
“The less privilege students must also be given equal opportunity to thrive.
“Hence we now have, a radio class for students of Ifako-Ijaiye constituency 02, Ojokoro LCDA which I sponsor purposely to address the lapses.
“This is part of measures we put in place to ensure students of both public and privates schools are not abandoned in their educational pursuit, despite the global pandemic coronavirus.
The lawmaker added that, “it is more imperative to think of better alternatives of engaging the children whose education has been truncated due to the ranging scourge of the pandemic.”
“We must think of the future of our wards, we cannot allow them to play all day, as the school lockdown end is not in sight, by this thoughts we must harness other strategies of engaging them during this period.
“This radio and online classes will assist in keeping our children’s brain alert to what there school teachers have taught while learning new things through the media.” Makinde said.
In the words of the Programme Coordinator Comrade Kenneth Olatunde, the radio programme will run from Monday-Friday on a weekly basis and it shall last until the lockdown on schools is relaxed.
He added that the ardent listeners of the radio station are given free slot to present their Internet enabled phone number, which will serve as contact for the online/radio class.
In his words,”the online class will provide detailed tutorials on basic subjects; Mathematics and English for students that have been locked down free of charge courtesy Honourable Makinde.
“We are focusing more on the students of public school whose schools are not running online tutorials for them unlike their peers in private schools.”
“The idea for the online tutorials is aimed at providing a unique type of palliatives that is different from the sharing of food items, which is ongoing as well as support for parents who could not afford to pay for the fees due to the economic meltdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.”
“We have released quite a number of slot to Jordan FM, 105.5 to be given to callers on the station who are interested,there are
limited slot available on the radio programme.”
We are optimistic that this will go a long way to keep the children prepared ahead of their resumption, though not yet ascertained now.
” I am very convince of the positive impact on the benefiting students whose morale is currently at the lowest ebb as characterised by the long period of time they have been out of school.” Kenneth explained.
Parents in Ifako-Ijaiye constituency are enjoined to listen to Jordan FM 105.5 to get the free slots,as it had been duly paid for by their representative in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Rasheed Makinde.