By Uji Abdullahi Iliyasu
Abuja
The federal government has assured of providing the right environment in schools for the teaching and learning of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr. Sonny Echono, gave the assurance in Abuja, when he declared open the Skool Media Start-Up workshop and capacity building for some Federal Unity Colleges (FUCs).
Echono disclosed that seven FUCs have benefitted from the pilot phase of the programme, adding that after satisfactory performance of the pilot phase, the programme had been extended to cover 24 schools drawn from all the six geo-political zones of the country.
Speaking further, he said the implementation of the programme would provide digital classrooms, library upgrade, capacity building, educational tablets, among others, in the selected unity colleges as a foundation for the transformation of education in the schools.
“Education is regarded globally as the bedrock of sustainable development and for the individual’s ability to survive meaningfully and compete globally in the contemporary society.
“ICT, on its part, is the driver of competitiveness in the world today. It has redefined efficiency and productivity and changed the dynamics of the world of work. It has also expanded social networking beyond borders and introduced new paradigms in education delivery and administration.
“In implementing this programme, we should go beyond the acquisition of basic ICT skills to fostering the development of critical thinking, problem-solving and communication skills among others.”
The director of ICT in the ministry, Mr. Ifegwu Oji, in his remark, said the programme, which is being implemented in partnership with the Skool Media, would promote quality in education and provide solution and urged participants to embrace the government’s initiative.
He also advised the federal government to deploy massive ICT infrastructure in the colleges for training of teachers and students in order to be globally competitive.