The government of Lagos State will begin privatization of its state-of-the-art e-Learning centre by December, the state’s commissioner for science and technology Adebiyi Mabadeje has revealed.
The commissioner said the embracement of technology by the state government has made it easier for “the government and global corporate bodies to outsource to competent industry players to ensure efficient management and better returns on investment.”
Although he declined to disclose which company would manage the e-Learning Centre, he said that the aim is to allow the state government to focus its attention on governance.
Launched in June by Governor Babatunde Fashola, the center is situated in the central business district of Lagos. It was upgraded from the old Lagos Public Library initially constructed in 1946 to serve Lagos residents.
The first floor is the e-library room, which has more than a million electronic books. The floor also has a conventional book library with one thousand books and is equipped with a 50’ flat screen and seating capacity for twenty and training rooms stocked with multimedia facilities.
Other floors have additional e-library rooms, online testing centre for those who want to write professional examinations, an exhibition hall and a video conference room.
The commissioner stated that despite it being an e-library, the facility is still fulfilling the goal of its founders in 1946 by serving students, teachers, researchers and entrepreneurs.
The center has become an abode for Lagos residents in search of knowledge as users can make use of the center’s wide array of educational collections in both electronic and printed versions.
