Access to quality education is central to achieving all 17 of the United Nations’ Global Goals, which work together to end extreme poverty. Education is important to the long-term growth, economic stability, and development of any community or country, and all children, irrespective of religion, location, or ethnicity, are entitled to the right of basic quality education.
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the global education sector especially hard. With mandated lockdowns around the world, the closure of schools, institutions, and learning centers affected an estimated 1.5 billion learners at the height of the pandemic. According to the Unicef, close to 2 trillion in-class learning and schooling hours were disrupted all over the world.
With this challenge came the need for alternative means of schooling — online learning platforms, or e-learning, where learners and schoolchildren could learn anywhere, at their own convenience and pace in a flexible setting without needing physical face-to-face instruction, became the go-to for many.
With one in every five of the world’s out-of-school children being in Nigeria — and this statistic being made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic — there is growing need to improve education access. The good news is that there are several platforms for young Nigerians to turn to, to help quench their thirst for education.
These are just five of the incredible online learning platforms that have been helping learners in Nigeria access education.
Roducate
Roducate, which has “Mobile Learning. Instant Knowledge” as its overarching theme, is Nigeria's first indigenous e-learning platform, offering contents suited to the individual differences of learners. The platform also allows local schools to customise the content to meet the various learning styles of their students. Students from preschool to university level can learn about subjects such as Civic Education, Life Skills, and Digital Skills.
Ulessons
Ulessons is an online platform available across mobile app stores in 11 countries. The made-in-Nigeria interactive learning tool helps to empower young school children to achieve academic excellence. The app’s content comprises about 18,000 interactive quizzes and tests with detailed solutions, all put together by subject matter experts.
Ulessons’ refers to itself as the “No. 1 Learning App for Junior & Secondary School” in Nigeria because of its ability to leverage quality teachers, media, and technology in creating topnotch sustainable education for learners.
StudyLab 360
StudyLab 360 is a Learning Management System (LMS) that provides users with free resources for remote teaching and learning, including lesson contents, easily accessible assessments, feedback, and analysis, and is available for use both virtually and in-person. If you’re a learner aged 15-18 and you’re looking to prepare for JAMB, IGCSE, WAEC, or OLYMPIAD exams, then this platform is great for you. Similarly, teachers educating children within this age range and on these subjects will benefit from the platform’s resources.
Prepclass
Prepclass is an educational technology (EdTech) platform that helps to match interested learners with experienced, skilled, and quality tutors. The learning program has helped an estimated 6,500 students to access personalised learning, with about 55,000 teachers enrolled. Their module is centered around English language and vocabulary improvements for learners of all ages and stages, starting with children as young as 4 years old.
Afrilearn
Afrilearn is an interactive online learning platform which “actively integrates genius teachers, animators, and developers to deliver affordable, world-class education for Africans, anywhere”, according to its website — with a focus on Anglophone West African countries. Afrilearn releases new curriculum-based video lessons on a biweekly basis via its YouTube channel.