The Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency, (NITDA), Mr. Kashifu Abdullahi has urged stakeholders in the Nigerian educational sector to adopt digital technology skills.
The NITDA boss, who stated this in Abuja at the ongoing EdTech Summit and Awards organised Federal Ministry of Education in collaboration with AFRITEX, noted that adopting such skills will help students and the youths to be a key player in the touted Digital economy.
According to Abdullahi, digital technology is changing the landscape in several ways, even as the disruptive tendencies of digital technology are not only affecting the way we live but also the way we learn or acquired education.
“There are applications that close the gap between what is learned and what ought to be learned. Digital technology is changing the way we learn. The pillars of the educational sector which are content, delivery and teaching have now been disrupted,” he said.
He believes that time has come for Nigerians to reap from the potentials and benefits of digital technology by acquiring digital skills that are more rewardable than the educational certificates.
Sharing his personal experience with the participants who were majorly students, Abdullahi stated that immediately he got his CCIE certification, he got five different job offers, which he could not think of getting with his academic qualification. According to him, in less than a year he got his job he recouped his investment on the certification.
He disclosed that as part of efforts to support the growth of the nation’s educational sector, NITDA has donated e-learning facilities to many tertiary institutions in the country, increased IT Access at different communities through the provision of our digital Centres and e-learning facilities, IT Community Centres and provided computing facilities for teachers in the country.
The EdTech Summit and Awards is organised by the Federal Ministry of Education in collaboration with AFRITEX to bring critical stakeholders together in order to share and harmonise ideas towards developing a National Educational Technology Plan for the country.
Participants at the 2 Day 2020 EdTech Summit were drawn from the Academia, Public and Private Sector
