Summary Report - Education Cloud Project

Education Cloud ProjectA Comprehensive e-learning framework and education data implementation strategyAn information technology framework to develop a collaborativenetwork with facilities for developing, sharing and disseminatingcontent for all institutions from basic to tertiary, employing unifiedinfrastructure, policies and guidelines.Project SummaryProject Name:FME Education Cloud (eCloud) ProjectProject ImpactAn information technology framework to develop a collaborative network withfacilities for developing, sharing and disseminating content for all institutionsfrom basic to tertiary, employing unified infrastructure, policies and guidelines.Project ObjectivesIt is designed to provide certified content accessible online from across the nationby learners covering the three tiers of the education sector. It will also act as acatalyst in order to provide access to learners through:01. the development of offline-capable platforms for rural areas02. encourage independent content production and03. drive the publication industry towards digitizing existing content.ImplementingPartnerFME, Federal Agencies, State Governments, Local IT companies, private sector,NGOsProject PeriodJuly 2020 – December 2023 (Phase 1)Document AuthorMohammed Mahmud - [email protected]. ContextThere are ongoing efforts in the Education Sector to address the COVID 19’s impact onEducation. Under the leadership of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the FederalMinistry of Education developed a COVID 19 Education Sector Strategy and updated itsonline Portal for sharing of resources across the country. This has enabled other States toadapt and develop their state specific strategies and provide messaging on prevention andcontainment of COVID 19 as well as using radio and TV to broadcast lessons.Page |1 of 10

The advent of Covid-19 has heralded a new normal - compelling a rethink and accelerationof strategies in alternative means of delivering learning.The Education Cloud Project was in its infancy at FME right before the pandemic struck atthe beginning of 2020. The pandemic invigorated the FME to articulate the project towardsan accelerated prevention and mitigation of the impact on the education sector, ensuringcontinuity of learning for both urban and marginalized populations.The eCloud Project will become a major component of the Ministerial Strategic Plan (MSP,2019) on ICT in education.2. ObjectivesThe project is designed to provide a unified approach to e-learning and a unified educationsector data portal that is verifiable and accessible online from across the nation by learners,teachers, researchers and other stakeholders covering the three tiers of the education sector.i. Provide e-learning platform(s) with offline-capability for under-served communities.ii. encourage independent, platform-agnostic content production and drive the publicationindustry towards digitizing existing content.iii.Provide verifiable education sector data across the three tiers - basic, secondary andtertiary education.3. ImplementationIn terms of implementation, FME agencies directly involved in the regulation, production andcertification of content will be primary participants. These agencies include:●Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC)●Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC)●National Secondary School Education Commission (NSSEC)●National Teachers’ Institute (NTI)●National Universities Commission (NUC)●National Board for Technical Education (NBTE)●Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund)●Galaxy Backbone LtdPage |2 of 10REPORT - Education Cloud Project

4. Teacher TrainingThe Education Cloud Project combines programmes for teachers to acquire moderne-learning platform content production and use. This will enable our teachers and lecturersto produce content both for their peers and students.The GPE assisted FME Covid-19 Response programme has already distributed computerand media production software and hardware to 36 states and FCT. This will enable statesto engage local teachers that will also be trained under the Covid-19 Response programmeto customize content that will be uploaded to the Education Cloud for access by all.5. Content Production EcosystemThe pandemic has created an opportunity for the FME to pivot into the inevitable future oflearning that ICT enables on several fronts;i.Enables NERDC to upgrade its measuring instruments from the manual, textual systemto the digital equivalent which allows them to assess all media types - text, audio andvideo formats in order to come up with a baseline for digital education content.ii.The roll out of the Education Cloud Project will drive further collaboration between theFME and Galaxy Backbone, NCC, NITDA, NIMC and by extension, the Ministry ofCommunications and Digital Economy.iii. The cohesion required in the formulation of a comprehensive network infrastructurefor education will be seeded by the Education Cloud Project based on (ii) above.6. Nigeria Learning PassportLearning Passport started off as a partnership between UNICEF, Microsoft and theUniversity of Cambridge and its departments Cambridge University Press and CambridgeAssessment, designed to provide education for displaced and refugee children through adigital remote learning platform. It has now undergone rapid expansion to facilitatecountry-level curriculum for children and youth whose schools have been forced to closedue to Covid-19.UNICEF and Microsoft offered Learning Passport to FME as part of a solution to theCovid-19 Emergency Response Project steered by the D ICT.Page |3 of 10REPORT - Education Cloud Project

The Learning Passport PlatformMain Components1. A MODEL: The Learning Passport is an 'education model' for primary education,tailored to the needs of children who are either out of school, or in need of supportto ensure the education they are receiving is of sufficient quality. There are twocomponents to the model:●A Curriculum Framework component consisting of three core subjects (Math,Science and Literacy) and a Social and Emotional Learning program design.●A Resource component (which includes curated teaching and learningmaterials, and guidance on adaptation and use).2.A PLATFORM: The Learning Passport includes a suite of online and offlinefunctionalities and abilities. The platform, powered by Microsoft, will prioritizedeployment in places with intermittent or no internet connectivity – often locationsthat children find themselves unable to access formal education systems.Features●Simple and engaging interface●Offers tailor-made training programs●Tracking progress and measure outcomes with visual analytics dashboard●Available on different device platforms●Includes language customizationImplementation commenced in January 2021 with strategies and policy documents alreadydrafted. These included:i. Nigeria Learning Passport (NLP) Implementation Strategy 1.0ii. NLP Implementation - Draft M&E Requirementiii. NLP Content Policyiv. NLP IT PolicyPage |4 of 10REPORT - Education Cloud Project

7. eCloud Project: e-Learning Component OverviewThe e-learning component aims to provide strategies and projects for the FME, partnersand other stakeholders to support in designing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating andup-scaling remote learning programmes to support children in learning. The overall goal ofthis framework is to ensure that learning continues in a safe and protective environmentand achieve capacity building for teachers in terms of digital skills and content. This goalwill be achieved through four specific and interrelated objectives;1. Education Cloud Project Policies and Strategies2. Teacher Training - Digital skills, digital media content production3. Devices and Infrastructure4. Content ProductionFigure 1 Education Cloud Relationship OverviewThe above objectives will be achieved through a strong state-level intervention supportedby federal government coordination, guidance, technical support, monitoring andreporting, and sharing of good practices across the country.Page |5 of 10REPORT - Education Cloud Project

Objective 1: Education Cloud ProjectIn terms of implementation, FME agencies directly involved in the regulation, productionand certification of content will be primary participants. These agencies include:●Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC)●National Teachers Institute (NTI)●Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN)●Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC)●National Universities Commission (NUC)●National Board for Technical Education (NBTE)●Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund)●Galaxy Backbone Ltd (Federal Government’s network infrastructure implementer)Key Activities●Coordinating with state governments and partners in designing a robust Education Cloudthat will provide local content to learners, teachers and researchers.●Provide software Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to assist the creation of anonline education publishing ecosystem●Provide technical assistance in selection and delivery of online digital content●Establish a monitoring and evaluation system to measure both effectiveness of projectdelivery and monitoring the progress of learning●Institutional strengthening of FME and agencies through consulting and other means toincrease monitoring and evaluation efficiencyPage |6 of 10REPORT - Education Cloud Project

Objective 2: Teacher Training - Digital skills, digital media content productionThis module is geared towards equipping teachers with digital skills and digital mediacontent production.Key Activities●Implement the Ministerial Strategic Plan (MSP) on digital skills certification●Capacity building for teachers in digital skills●Capacity building for teachers in digital media content production●Provision of digital media production equipment to schools and teachers●Institutional strengthening of FME and agencies through consulting and other means toincrease monitoring and evaluation efficiencyObjective 3: Devices and InfrastructureThis objective is to provide devices that will access the education cloud safely and securely,bearing in mind the need to protect learners and the system in its entirety from maliciousactivity coming from the wider Internet. Also, it will focus on ensuring backup powersupply to local servers and equipment installed in schools and regional locations to provideservice quality assurance.Key Activities●Provision of devices to learners in 103 Federal Unity Colleges (FUCs) and selected schoolsin states●Provision of devices to teachers in Federal Unity Colleges (FUCs) and selected schools instates●Provision of Internet access in FUCs, states●Enhance/provision of network, backup power infrastructure in 103 Federal Unity Colleges(FUCs) and selected schools in states●Institutional strengthening of FME and agencies through consulting and other means toincrease monitoring and evaluation efficiencyPage |7 of 10REPORT - Education Cloud Project

Objective 4: Content DevelopmentIn recognizing the prophecy by the founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates in the early 2000s, hementioned in an article that in the future ‘content is king’.Content development is thelifeblood of the Education eCloud Project.The teaching, learning and researchingproposed in this document cannot go on without a comprehensive focus on contentthrough the development of a ‘content ecosystem’.Key Activities●Provide policy and guidelines for content producers●Provide policy and guidelines on systems, network and physical security●Provide APIs for content upload and retrieval across platforms and devices●Provide data access policy, bearing in mind the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation 2019(NDPR)Modalities of operationsCoordination & ResponsibilityAlthough the FME multi-agency team will coordinate projects, key responsibilities will beallocated according to the suitability of the institutions identified in the participatinginstitutions.●The Director ICT, Federal Ministry of Education is coordinating this project. He is also thecoordinator for ICT on the FME COVID-19 Response team and the Standing Committee(SCIH) of ICT Heads which combines all the agencies supervised by the FME.●The Technical Assistant to the Hon. Minister, is also a team member of both COVID-19Response and SCIH. He also represents the FME on the National Information TechnologyDevelopment Agency’s (NITDA) board and consulting for NECO with the National IdentityManagement Commission (NIMC).●The National Education Research and Development Council (NERDC) will be responsiblefor curriculum.●UBEC is ideally placed for communication with state counterparts in basic education.●NTI is the agency responsible for teacher training.●NUC and NBTE provide regulation for the university and polytechnic systems respectively.Page |8 of 10REPORT - Education Cloud Project

8. Project Phasing & SustainabilityThe schedule for implementation is broken into 2 phases covering 24 months starting Jan2021.Phase I: Basic & Secondary (Jan 2021 - Dec 2021)At this stage the project will concentrate on achieving the goals for basic and secondaryschool in terms of content, infrastructure and devices.Phase II: Tertiary Institutions (Jan 2022 - Dec 2022)At this stage the project will concentrate on achieving the goals for tertiary institutions interms of content, infrastructure and devices - as specified in the new National BroadbandPlan 2021 - 2025.Sustainability PlanIntegral to any project that leans towards a comprehensive outlook is its sustainability plan.The Education Cloud Project will be strengthened by ensuring the various policies of eachproject component are interlinked to support each other.9.eCloud Project: Open Education DataThe Open Education Data Project is a reservoir for all information regarding educationindices in Nigeria, and it is designed to address the need for official data requirements ofstate governments, agencies, researchers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs),journalists and the general public.States, local governments, businesses and individuals can use open data to bring aboutsocial, economic and environmental benefits. Education datasets are particularly necessaryfor planning social programmes targeted at youths, entrepreneurship, and skills development.Labour and employment strategies can be further enhanced through verifiable informationprovided by this project.Users can browse through the institutions in Nigeria, ranging from federal to state and localgovernments; they can research gender distribution, number of teachers, universities andpolytechnics. They can peruse performance data in Nigeria, thematically broken down,student enrolment and much more. The project will progressively add more datasets toprovide the capability for data analysis and study.Page |9 of 10REPORT - Education Cloud Project

The Open Education Data Project is made possible through the cooperative effort of the 23education agencies which include UBEC, NECO, JAMB and NABTEB, TETFund, NUC,NBTE, NTI, TRCN and NCCE to name a few. All information on the site is made publiclyavailable by the Federal Ministry of Education.The collaboration between the departments of the ministry spearheaded by ICT Departmentin achieving the Open Education Data Project is commendable.10. ConclusionThe Education Cloud Project is designed to release all the energy gathered in previousplans and contained in numerous strategy documents scattered in departments of theFME, waiting hopefully for a messianic implementation that aimed to achieve mildly similarobjectives before the COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, without making light of the sombrereality at present, it has exposed an opportunity for the ministry to unfold a cohesive andhigh impact project across the country for both learners and teachers with a clear path tosustainability.Page |10 of 10REPORT - Education Cloud Project