By Nneka Blessing Ukachukwu
In a strategic move to boost digital literacy and drive technological advancements in Nigeria, the Director General of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa CCIE has said the Agency is committed to achieving 70% digital literacy level by 2027 through innovative approaches in delivering initiatives, continuous collaborations and stakeholder engagement.
Inuwa stated this while receiving representatives from the Afre.lib Academy led by the Executive Director of Operation Mrs Joice Gomina who were on a visit to the Agency’s Corporate Headquarters in Abuja.
The purpose of the visit was to seek NITDA’s partnership as co-host of Afre.lib Academy’s bootcamps in August; 2024 Tech and Career Expo with the theme “Tech for Earth” in September; to have the DG as a Keynote Speaker and sponsorship support for their Tech Challenge Winners.
The DG said, “from the digital literacy perspective, we have three key areas, firstly, is the Formal Education where we are working with the minister of education to review curriculum and infuse all these skills in formal education, but we have a lot to do to achieve that in terms of training the teachers, getting the equipment available for them to use and so on.”
“Secondly, for those outside the formal education, that is the informal sector, we have an initiative which we call the Digital Literacy for All (DL4ALL) Initiative which we are working on building an Edtech platform (a learning Management System) where people can learn at their own pace. We are looking at translating it to Nigerian Languages, so that people who cannot read and understand English can do so in their own local languages.”
“We are exploring partnering with the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) as they are in 774 local government areas, to be onboarding people and making the content as simple as possible. So that anybody who listens or watches these contents can pick something from it. We believe going through the NYSC will help use reach the critical mass we are looking at.”
“Finally, we also have the formal workforce, which is to train people working for the government and private sector because the workforce needs to be digitally literate to increase productivity at work.
Inuwa assured the Academy of the Agency’s full support as both organisation share the same vison of fostering IT development and digital literacy.
“We need to review your curriculum to make sure it aligns with the National Digital Literacy Framework (NDLF).”
He added that NITDA is working hard to fulfil President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda by establishing at least one Innovation Hub in each state, providing a place where individuals can further develop their proof of concept after acquiring new skills. Noting that both organisations can work together in the aspect of having tech clubs across schools in the country.
On her part, Mrs. Gomina stated that the Academy, comprised of a team of expert and passionate educators, has observed a significant gap between young children, who are digital natives, and their teachers, who continue to use outdated methods to prepare these children for an ever-evolving future.
She said the Academy is working on building a platform where these children will be mentored and given a safe space to explore technology within the ethics of morality.
“We want to reduce that entitlement mentality and increase that mentality of citizenship, responsibility, and showing them that they can contribute to nation building using technology,” she said.
She mentioned that some of the activities of the Academy include bootcamps for children, summer tech challenges teacher training as she appreciated the Agency for its willingness to support and partner with the Academy.
The Academy did a demo of some of the prototype developed by children who have undergone trainings with them.
