Ensign: Technology Will Solve out-of-school Problem

Uchechukwu Nnaike

With the increasing number of out-of-school children in the country, which has been put at 13 million, the President of the American University of Nigeria (AUN), Yola, Dr. Margee Ensign, has identified technology as an alternative way of giving children an opportunity to learn.

Speaking with journalists in Lagos, Ensign, who was recently reappointed as President, said the number is understated as there is no data collection in the north, which has the highest number of out-of-school children.

Ensign, who was accompanied by the Assistant Vice-President, Safety and Security Operations, Dr. Lionel Rawlins, also regretted the rate of insecurity in some parts of the country and the kidnapping of school children, which has led to the closure of schools.

She said the situation is completely unacceptable, adding that from the experience of some of the released Chibok girls currently studying at the university, she knows the impact of kidnapping on children.

Instead of closing schools, Rawlins said schools should be protected.

He said: “If a school doesn’t have walls and fences, don’t send your child there. If you went to a school and the security officers are poorly kitted and poorly dressed, it means the security is poor. If you went to a school and there is no technology, no CCTV, it means you are sending your children to an unsafe environment. We make sure we do all we can to protect students, faculty, staff and visitors.”

Ensign said since many students no longer feel safe to return to school, the country should resort to technology to educate the out-of-school children who are on the increase because of the country’s rapid population growth.

According to her, during her first tenure (2010 to 2017), when insurgency was at its peak, the institution, with the support of the US government, started a project known as Technology Enhanced Learning for All (TELA). As part of the project, she said students and faculty members developed radio programmes and applications for laptops, which were used to educate about 22,000 children in Yola. She said the intervention led to improvement in reading and maths scores.

“You can educate kids anywhere because of technology and for me, that is the solution to all these educational problems in Nigeria.”
Citing the progress made by some of the released Chibok girls that were awarded a scholarship by the institution, one of whom recently bagged a degree in accounting, Ensign stated that education changes whatever a child has been through.

In addition, she also announced plans to establish a public health programme in conjunction with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to address the issue of maternal mortality and other public health issues in the North-East.

She said the university would also expand its works in the communities, region, and country through the Atiku Institute of International Development. She said the institution would consider more courses like medicine and build a hospital in the long run.

Reacting to the issue of sexual harassment and other unethical practices common in the education system, Ensign said the university has zero-tolerance for sexual harassment, bullying, intimidation money for grades, and sex for grades, and is part of the safeguard initiative where anyone can report anonymously.

She added that the institution also organises a ceremony where students, faculty and staff will pledge to honesty, integrity and service, after which each would publicly sign a document of commitment to right behaviour so that no one will say he didn’t know.

She said it will not cost other higher institutions anything to implement such programme.