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Lagos state government has partnered the Bridge International Academies (Bridge) in a determined effort to improve access to affordable and quality education in the state as Africa’s fifth largest economy plans for the next 50 years after it celebrated its 50th anniversary.
This resolute partnership was made manifest May 30 at the second edition of the quarterly forum tagged “Leapfrogging Social Impact through Technology” organised by Bridge in collaboration with Lagos state Ministries of Education and Economic Planning and Budget recently. The international whole system and school intervention agency has announced further opening of 14 academies in Lagos, increasing its network of high quality education to over 7400 pupils and 37 under-served communities across the state.
“We are committed to bringing every child onto the playing field because Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy would lack the ability for generational transfer of knowledge when over 40 percent of its children are out of school. We use technology innovation to scale up our social impact, enabling every child to get quality, affordable education” said Shannon May, co-founder and chief operating officer, Bridge International Academies at the forum.
Bridge academies are situated in some of the poorest and most underserved areas in Lagos, including slums. Its recent expansion means Bridge now employs 271 teachers, creating a total of about 450 jobs in Nigeria.
Stakeholders at the event which included government officials, international impact investors and Nigerian technopreneurs/social entrepreneurs sought to clarify and chart a clear path for the role of technology in accelerating social and educational development.
Akinwunmi Ambode, Governor of Lagos state, “has set a target to push Lagos from the fifth largest to the third largest economy in Africa and we need a new generation of technology literate graduates to drive that forward” said Obafela Bank-Olemoh, special adviser to the Lagos state governor on education.
Bank-Olemoh stressed the need for governments to continue to invest in technology to drive national growth while citing the example of Lagos state which recently launched its education technology programme called ‘CodeLagos’ targeted at equipping one million young people with coding skills and transforming the state into a major technology hub over the next decade.
“I am very excited to work with the Lagos government on building capacity and capability in education and technology. In the 21st century, technology has become an enabler of better schooling and development across the globe” said Jay Kimmelman, CEO Bridge International Academies.
“It’s fantastic to see Nigeria at the forefront of that movement. Technology underpins the education provided by Bridge and there is no doubt that technology will play a pivotal role in empowering Nigerians over the next decade” Kimmelman added.
Bridge International Academies has leveraged technology to provide quality, low-cost education to over 7000 low-income families in 37 local communities across Nigeria. It has in the last eight years been working in over 700 communities by leveraging on technology to deliver content to local teachers, while also empowering them to support their pupils to succeed.
STEPHEN ONYEKWELU
