The Federal Government has deployed virtual teachers to underserved schools across the country under its Inspire Live initiative to address manpower shortages and improve access to quality education.

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday.

According to the minister, the initiative, known as Inspire Live, will enable pupils in primary, junior secondary and senior secondary schools to participate in live, interactive lessons delivered remotely by qualified teachers.

He explained that pupils in schools without subject teachers could access live lessons online according to a centrally prepared timetable.

“Any school, say you are in Kaura Namoda today and you don’t have an English teacher, you can go online and log on when that teacher will be teaching English. You can log on to it in an interactive way,” Alausa said. He added that the government is collaborating with the Nigerian Communications Commission to provide zero-rated data for learners.

The minister said the programme currently streams daily classes for JSS 1, JSS 2 and SS2, Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., delivered by certified master teachers via Cisco Webex. He said there are plans to scale up the programme to cover all classes from Primary 1 to Senior Secondary 3 in the near future.

For Junior Secondary School learners, available subjects include Basic Science, Mathematics, English, ICT, Agricultural Science, Basic Technology, Civic Education, French, Physical Education, Religious Studies, History and Business Studies. For Senior Secondary School learners, subjects include Biology, Chemistry, Physics, English, Mathematics, Economics, Geography, Agricultural Science, Technical Drawing, Civic Education and Automobile Mechanics.

He further disclosed that the government is strengthening teachers’ capacity through digital platforms, including Ignite, which provides resources for lesson preparation and professional development. He said almost 50,000 teachers are also being supported under the Teacher Preparedness Programme.

The Federal Ministry of Education, in a statement by its Director of Press and Public Relations, Folasade Boriowo, described the initiative as transformative. The ministry said it has directed Commissioners of Education to nominate State Focal Officers to coordinate activities and ensure schools have basic ICT facilities, adding that registration is strictly by school principals via http://inspire.education.gov.ng.