Robotics to be used as a tool to deliver quality education
(January 16, 2019) – The Ministry of Education will be introducing robotics at the Primary Level in 2019 and it is the intention that this tool will be used as a tool to deliver quality education to the nation’s children.
This is according to Assistant Chief Education Officer (Primary), Ms. Carol Benn. She said that over the years pupils have been improving gradually, and this is because of the various interventions employed by the Ministry of Education.
Assistant Chief Education Officer (Primary), Ms. Carol Benn.
“But we will not stop here. In this technological age, while we have been using the radio and television, we see the need to venture into new and more modern ways of teaching”, Ms. Benn explained while proffering the rationale behind introducing robotics in schools.
Ms. Benn stated that the Education Ministry in its continued effort to promote the quality of education and promote STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) while contributing to a green economy has decided to introduce robotics in the primary schools.
She said that the task of robotics is to support the development of pupils’ scientific thinking and help them to understand the applications in daily life through every day experiences in the environment.
“Robotics will empower our pupils to make wise choices, develop their problem solving skills where they will be able to think and act quickly in different situations, develop deep critical thinking and concretize learning while building skills in navigating successfully through STEAM,” Ms. Benn informed.
According to Ms. Benn, by introducing robotics early in the school educational curriculum, students can also build interest in this field and nurture their talents. Ms. Benn noted that the initiative will be piloted with the Grade Four pupils across the country in 2019 and that Grade Four teachers will be trained before the rollout of the programme.
Further, she said that pupils will benefit from the robotics programme in a number of ways, “This programme will help to build our pupils’ leadership qualities, increase their creativity, promote inclusivity, encourage teamwork, enhance their soft skills, teach our pupils self-control and prepare them for the future”.