Mbah Flags Off Experiential Learning Centre For Smart Schools

Enugu State governor, Dr Peter Mbah, has flagged off the construction of a centre for experiential learning and innovation as part of the state’s sustainability plans for the Smart Green School system.

The centre, which is situated at the Enugu State College of Education (Technical), Enugu and comprises 25 model classrooms, ICT hub and e-library, among other hi-tech sections and equipment, will serve as training and retraining hub to groom teachers in digital innovation, mechatronics, artificial intelligence, robotics and other related areas to be able to function optimally in delivering knowledge in the state’s 260 smart schools.

Flagging off the construction at the weekend, the governor said it was part of the priority of his administration to build smart human capital, upscale the workforce, produce children who would serve as the fourth industrial revolution and achieve zero per cent poverty headcount in the state.

The governor who was represented by the Commissioner for Education, Prof Ndubueze Mbah said, “The Experiential Learning and Innovation Centre, as the governor envisioned it, is a centre responsible for making sure that all ‘smart’ teachers experience the Enugu Smart Green Schools before they graduate from the Enugu College of Education Technical (ESCET) as students.

“Experiential learning is being practiced in universities. So, Enugu is the first to introduce it in primary and post-primary schools.

“So, before you even send teachers for the teaching practice, they need to have spent time in the Centre for Experiential Learning and Innovation to develop those pedagogical skills that they need to succeed in the Smart Green School.

“Experiential learning is about supporting children in school to learn through practice. It is about moving away from a scenario where teachers just lecture to one in which our teachers are able to design projects that engage students in activities and problem-solving. So, through these projects, they are able to learn those concepts, internalise them and use them to solve problems.

“So, it is tied to sustainable goals and we are supporting our students and teachers to identify local problems and come up with solutions tying them to sustainable development goals,” he stated.

Mbah commended the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), which he said was paying for the project, having recognised the state’s investment in education.

In her remarks, the provost of ESCET, Dr Stella Ekwueme, commended Governor Mbah for his quality leadership which she said has positioned the state as a pacesetter in the education sector within a very short period and thanked TETFund for partnering with the state government on the project.