TheCable

Adesola Adeduntan, CEO of FirstBank, has announced that the bank in partnership with government and other stakeholders will be initiating an e-learning platform for students amid the coronavirus outbreak.

In a statement on Wednesday, Adeduntan emphasised the need to ensure that children remain engaged during the closure of schools across the nation.

He said the bank has concluded plans with the necessary authorities to put in place complementary efforts in education to support students and minimise the disruption to their education resulting from closure of schools.

He said many parents were concerned about how their children’s education is “truncated by the current crisis” and worried about keeping them idle at home.

“We are warmed by the fact that different organizations have risen to the various challenges and are supporting in areas such as health and welfare, and we feel the peculiar needs of our children and youth must not be left out and have therefore elected to focus on contributing to solving the current education challenge,” Adeduntan said.

“Education remains the bedrock of any society and we believe that when we educate our children we enable our nation and produce global citizens who provide groundbreaking solutions for the continent and the world at large.

“So, building educational partnerships is an avenue to support our children to remain resourceful and fully engaged at this time so they can compete favorably with their peers internationally.

“To this end, we are working with the States; United Nations Global Compact; innovative technology firms such as Robert & John to provide e-learning solution with the Government approved curriculum for students across the country.

“The roll-out begins first week in April starting with Lagos State where FirstBank will support the roll-out of Roducate which has been adjudged a best-fit solution by educators, teachers, and all necessary authorities.

“This solution has the full curriculum on both the online and offline versions with the offline version of particular interest as it eliminates the challenge posed by data affordability.

“We call on well-meaning organisations and individuals to join us and collectively rise to address the challenges this current pandemic presents to our children and youth and are reaching out to other organisations with complementary solutions to also partner on this initiative for the youth who are our future.”