THE huge potentials that are inherent in the large young population of Nigeria
could only be the future of the country if government and the private sector
collaborate to use ICT to drive education.
Country
Representative of the British Council, Mr. David Higgs in an interview with
journalist in Lagos, said that ICT education holds the key to the desired growth
that will enable the country to take its place in Africa.
According
to him, to achieve its dream of getting its young large population educated,
the government needs to collaborate with other development partners in the
global.
Higgs
who spoke after presenting a Digital Hubs of 20 PCs to Oregun Senior High
School, Oregun,Lagos, Nigeria said that now is the time for Africans, and that Nigeria is
the centre of activities in Africa.
He
disclosed that the young population needs ICT to have access to good education saying
that with the Digital Hubs, the students will be able to interact with their
peers in other parts of the global.
Higgs
stated that the PCs in the Digital Hubs are connected to the internet thereby
giving the students access to information at the tip of their finger adding
that with the facility the students will be able to connect to schools in other
parts of the world and do their academic project with ease.
He
stressed that ICT gives power to access
knowledge, other communities and groups of people adding that that is the real
benefit of the ICT.
The
project of connecting schools across the world with internet, which is called Badaliko
is according to him, been going on for three years in six countries saying
that the project is also going on in other regions of the world under different
names.
He
disclosed that the project, which is also going on the United Kingdom is a
self-interest project explaining that Britain also wants its kids to also be
able to talk and interact with kids in other parts of the world.
Higgs
added that the project is as beneficial to the UK youths as to youths in other
parts of the world saying that the British Council has been involved in
promoting education in Nigeria for 40 years.
He
noted that over the years different ideas have emerged in the British Council
education activities saying that it has become clear
that no one can do its job effectively without being connected to the internet.
He
stated that kids are going to go to the university and graduate to work and such they
need to understand how to use communication technology to do their work
stressing that just as it is in the UK, the most important thing is producing
young employable adult who work in all different kinds of field to build their country.
Higgs
who has spent four years in the country stated that there is no need to panic
about the abuse of the facility by some students saying that the facilities are not on
open access to anybody at anytime.
According
to him, the British Council has selected a group of teachers known as Digital
Ambassadors who are trained as trainers to guide the teachers and the students
in the use to avoid abuse.
He
added that the reason for giving access to technology to young people is to
train them to use it in a responsible way
noting that the early the kids are taught, the bad and good sides of
technology the safer it is for them to use it to better their life.
On
the cost of the project, he said that the project is a partnership with
Microsoft adding that both invested $1 million each into it for the six countries concerned.
He
also disclosed that the British Council and Microsoft are not the only
organisation doing such project adding that there are other organisation that
are making sure that technology gets into schools in the country.
He
observed that school population in Africa is growing faster than the ability of
government to provide teachers and other materials adding that 10 years from now the
whole schools in Lagos are going to be wired up.
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