FG Unveils Digital Teaching Platform, Says No More Disruption Of Academic Calendar

The Federal Government has vowed that there will be no more disruption of the academic calendar due to pandemic or any other unforeseen circumstances with the unveiling of the Tertiary Education Research, Applications and Services (TERAS) platform.

The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, while unveiling the platform, said it marked a significant milestone in the present administration’s quest to transform the nation’s tertiary education sector.

TERAS which is championed by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund(TETFund) is a platform that delivers digital based resources to public institutions, and also identifies staff and students to whom these resources are to be delivered.

Mamman, while stating that TERAS signifies a new beginning for Nigerian Tertiary Education, noted that the technology underpinning TERAS was a testament to the careful expertise in its design and implementation.

“The Ministry will continue to provide our beneficiary institutions and TETFund with unwavering support to fully realize the potential of TERAS, as a key component of our resolve in repositioning, strengthening and rekindling hope in our tertiary education sector,” he said.

The minister said that the Federal Ministry of Education would ensure the platform’s growth to benefit millions of students and academic staff, adding that all would be done to address the challenges in the Nigerian education system.

“During the challenging days of COVID-19, many of us in the private sector took concrete steps in private institutions to mitigate disruptions for our staff and students by transitioning to hybrid learning mode. We pondered what could be done for our public institutions?

“Today, I am delighted to witness TERAS, and I can confidently state that never again will we suffer the kind of disruption that we experienced during that period.

“We are committed to leveraging digital educational resources provisioned by TERAS to accelerate the adoption of hybrid learning methodologies in our public Tertiary Institutions. The implementation of our ICT roadmap will occasion the leap that will expand our teaching, learning and research beyond the confines of physical classrooms,” he said.

On his part, Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono, said the unveiling and launching of the platform marked a significant moment in the history of Nigerian tertiary education.

“We envision TERAS as the centralized hub for tertiary education services, fostering quality assurance, collaboration, efficiency and innovation,” he said.

Speaking further, the TETFund boss said “TERAS has its origins in the challenging days of the COVID-19 pandemic, a period when our nation and our education system ground to a halt. The impact was profound, but it also served as a catalyst for action.

“Government, recognizing the need to mitigate disruptions in education, swiftly set in motion a series of policies and directives through the Federal Ministry of Education. These initial steps have now culminated in the creation of TERAS, the groundbreaking platform we present today.”

Echono added “TERAS has been meticulously designed to seamlessly integrate various essential components. First is identity management through BIMS (Beneficiary Identity Management System), followed by a federated academic repository to address critical challenges faced by students, researchers, and institutions in accessing educational resources and research materials.

“Other services such as, sponsored Mobile Internet Access, EagleScan for plagiarism checking. Aggregated Journal & Research Subscription inclusive of EBSCO, Blackboard Learning Management System, Digital Literacy (ICDL and Communication Skills), and Intervention Funding are available to our institutions, staff, and students.”

He said the agency aimed at growing the over 2 million students and staff of beneficiary institutions currently captured on BIMS to beyond 3 million before the end of the year.

In a remark, the Secretary, Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, Prof Yakubu Ochefu, commended TETFund for putting in place TERAS, even as he called for more funding of the scheme.

“TERAS has been designed as an educational technology mall. If you have any technology out there that can fill the gaps and add value to our nation’s edu-tech, please let us know so we can work together.

” I want to draw the attention of the minister to ensure TERAS serves as a research platform for all Nigerians. It has been built on a public educational platform and should be opened to all Nigerians…., so that it can be one of the world’s best repositories.

“I know that to do that requires additional investment, that is why the stakeholders are requesting an increase in the quantum of funding for ICT to be able to cover new advances in, an increase of up to 35 per cent for educational technology for the next two years,” Ochefu said.