Kwara State Government on Monday commenced a free Summer Digital Coding class for students of public secondary schools across the state.

The summer coding class is to equip them with digital skills to be able to compete with their global counterparts, Special Assistant to the Governor on Digital Innovation Hon. Kayode Ishola told reporters in Ilorin, the capital city.

Designed to run for six weeks, the programme holds across six centres in the three senatorial districts of the state, with students between age eleven and fifteen as participants.

It is organised by the Office of the Special Assistant to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Digital Innovation, Hon. Kayode Ishola.

Speaking at the flag off ceremony at the Queen Elizabeth Secondary School Ilorin, Ishola said the state government is encouraging mass digital literacy among the youth so that they will not be left behind in the digital age.

“The government understands that for the students to have a competitive edge globally, they need to have digital skills, especially now that external exams like JAMB, WAEC and NECO are now computer based,” he told reporters on the sideline of the training.

“The programme will be run for six weeks; the first two weeks will focus on introduction to digital literacy, particularly for kids that do not have much background in hands-on use of the computers, while the remaining period will be used for coding and other digital skills.”

Other centres for the training are Government Secondary School Afon (Kwara Central); Ansarul Islam Junior Secondary School (Gure, Baruten) and Etsu Maman Saba Junior Secondary School Batapan (North); and Government Secondary School Omuaran, and Offa Grammar School, Offa (South).

The administration is known to have heavily invested in a technology-driven programme – KwaraLEARN — to build the capacity of students of basic classes on ICT.

“We received over 1,000 applications from students of public schools, both through online and at the designated centres, but only 500 were selected, having met the eligibility criteria for participation,” he said.

“The successful applicants fall between the ages of 11 and 15.”

Kayode thanked Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for being relentless in transforming the educational sector through different approaches.

In attendance were the Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Policy Formulation and Human Capital Development Dr Adetola Salahu; Senior Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations Kolo Majin Isaiah; and Principal of the Queen Elizabeth School, Senior Session, Hajia Gobir Bola Habibat.

Dr Adetola Salahu said the training will boost critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills among the students of public schools so that they can compete with their global counterparts.

“We are equipping them so that they will be able to compete with their global counterparts and for them to be able to help us solve some of the challenges we are facing in the country,” she said.

“We talk about waste management, we talk about generation of power and food supply, we have started teaching them how to use technology to solve these problems.”

Queen Elizabeth School Principal, Hajia Habibat, praised the government for the initiative, which she said will go a long way in engaging the students productively during the holiday season.

Some of the participants, who spoke with newsmen, such as Yusuf Ibrahim and Muhammad Ayisat, appreciated the state government for exposing themselves to digital skills.

They promised to make good use of the knowledge to advance national development.

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TECHDIGEST – Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State has commended PRNigeria over its factual, fair and accurate reportage especially in the aspect of fact- checks and identification of fake news.

The governor said this when Image Marchant Promotions Limited (IMPR) team – Publishers of PRNigeria and Economic Confidential – led by its founder, Mallam Yushau Shuaib, paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House, Ilorin on Tuesday.

The governor assured that the State will work with PRNigeria in terms of awareness creation on the state government’s activities and capacity building for government officials in the state ministries, departments and agencies.

He also pledged to join hands with the organization to tackle and end the menace of fake news in the country.

Governor Abdulrazak commended the work PRNigeria and Economic Confidential have done over the years in giving reliable and credible information on security matters, adding that he had always thought the platform was a federal government agency.

While commending the Governor, Mallam Yushau Shuaib said that IMPR in conjunction with Penlight Centre is organizing a 3-day workshop on Digital Journalism, Media Ethics and Responsible Reporting for Journalists in the state.

The programme which is supported by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) with the endorsement of Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy would trained journalists and online on latest technological took for journalism in selected states.

Shuaib said that the organization decided to choose Kwara as one of the states for the Workshop for its economic stability, security and ongoing developmental strides under the administration of the governor.

He also commended the governor for his equitable distributions of key appointments and executions in every senatorial districts in the state.

“We are delighted to note that apart from initiating new projects,we are completing abandoned ones, constructing more road networks, reviving state media organisations and your heavy investments in education andhealth sectors,” Shuaib said.

The highpoint of the courtesy visit was the presentation of some publications of the organization to the Governor.

The publications include the latest edition of Economic Confidential Magazine and two books written by two editors of the organization – “Digital Innovation for Economic Prosperity in Nigeria” and “101 Fake News on EndSARS.”

By PRNigeria

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