EkoExcel: Parents Laud Sanwo-Olu’s Initiative on Basic Education

By Funmi Ogundare

Parents of Lagos public primary school pupils have commended the state Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu for his brilliant intervention in repositioning the primary education through the EKOEXCEL programme.

EkoExcel which means Excellence in Child Education and Learning, is an educational transformation initiative of the governor, aimed at bridging the gap in quality education delivery, through the use of technological devices such as teaching tablets and smartphones in public primary school pedagogy.

According to Mrs. Adebola Coker, mother of Toyin, a pupil at Ireti Girls Primary school, Ikoyi, the enthusiasm of her daughter towards educational content has increased tremendously and her ability to easily grasp what she’s taught in class can be attributed to the new teaching method.

“I first noticed the changes about seven months ago. Toyin is now more interested in studying. Even when she comes back from school, she is eager to do her home work with very little assistance. We no longer have to chase her around to get her homework done.”

The father of a pupil at Mushin Public Primary School, Mr. Owolabi, commended the state government for introducing EkoExcel in primary schools, adding, “primary education in Mushin had never experienced such a transformation and the results are evident in the lives of the pupils who attend the schools.

My children are now more interested in going to school early than ever before, they come back home singing and teaching us new words and they even construct better sentences. For us, it’s a great feeling to see the changes EkoExcel has brought to our government schools especially because we want the best for our children and we can’t afford private schools” he concluded.

Teachers from the various primary schools across Lagos state have in the past expressed the same sentiments towards the programme, calling it a right step towards providing quality education for the pupils, urging the state government to continue with the current wave of capacity development which they say has greatly improved their teaching skills.

The Lagos State Government under Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is driving excellence in learning for all pupils across in primary schools through EkoExcel, a government funded and led programme in education reform that is successfully developing more highly skilled teachers; by training, supporting and motivating existing government teachers to succeed in their classrooms.