No fewer than 200 school principals, teachers, and other supporting staff benefited from the digital literacy training programme in Osun on Tuesday, aimed at promoting ICT-driven education services in the state.
The training, held in Ede, was organised by the Osun State government, IHS, a telecommunications infrastructure company, Focus Teens Foundation, in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Speaking on the sideline of the training, the Permanent Secretary of the Osun State Ministry of Education, Jimoh Muritala, who emphasised the vital role of digital technology as a tool for imparting knowledge in schools, stated that the state government, under the leadership of Governor Ademola Adeleke, will continue to utilise technology to enhance effective education in the state.
He said, “The teachers that you’re seeing here are 200 primary and secondary school teachers. Apart from other supporters, you have Local Inspectors of Education (LIAs), executive secretaries of Zonal Inspectors of Education (ZIEs).
“The key goals of the programme include, among others, mapping out school connectivity nationwide and globally by 2030, connecting all schools to reliable Internet access, ensuring students and teachers are not left out in the digital age.”
Also speaking, the facilitator of the programme from Focus Teens Foundation, Olaonipekun Kazeem, said 100 schools will receive routers, an Internet facility with unlimited data.
He stated, “Participants will be provided with equipped gadgets with routers and SIMs to teach students. In this place, we have 100 schools to receive routers. We expect that with this training that has happened today, they understand these devices and when they go back to their respective schools, they will use them to teach the students.”
In her remark, Titilope Oguntuga, who is the director in charge of sustainability at IHS Nigeria Limited, stated that the program, in partnership with UNICEF as a partner, not only connects schools to reliable digital infrastructure but also enables access to the Nigeria Learning Passport (NLP)—a powerful e-learning platform that provides both teachers and students with quality resources for ongoing learning.
Represented by Tolulope Oyenuga, she said, “We are also pleased to be working with Focus Teens Foundation, our last-mile implementing partner, ensuring the successful deployment of connectivity solutions and digital literacy training directly to schools that need them most.”
“In today’s world, digital literacy is not a luxury; it is a necessity. By providing access to these tools, we are helping students acquire skills that will empower them to participate actively in tomorrow’s economy,” she remarked.
