700 secondary school students to get digital skills training in Abuja

TechHer, in partnership with the Commonwealth of Learning, has commenced the school tour project for 700 students drawn from 10 secondary schools in Abuja, Nigeria.

The training continues the organisation’s previous work as part of its digital literacy program targeting mainly women and girls.

In a press statement issued in Abuja, Soniya Dawarga, TechHer’s Program Officer, said the current project phase seeks to create partnerships, build volunteer networks, digital literacy clubs, and develop a digital literacy training curriculum for secondary schools in Nigeria.

According to her, the project will be implemented across selected schools, pre-approved by the Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB) & the Secondary Education Board (SEB), with the specific goal of exposing the students to basic digital literacy skills, career opportunities in technology, and online safety.

In September 2021, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration, through UBEB, approved the project to commence in 10 FCT schools, including Junior Secondary School Abaji, Junior Secondary School Kwali, Junior Secondary School Giri, Junior Secondary School Abuja @30, Junior Secondary School Durumi Mpape and Junior Secondary School Area 1.

Others include Government Girls Secondary School Abaji, Government Secondary School Bwari, Government Secondary School Gwagwalada, Government Secondary School Kwali, Government Secondary School Kuje and Model Secondary School Maitama.

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Ms Dawarga explained that “TechHer is keen to create digital literate communities, especially among disadvantaged communities, including women and youth groups. We are focusing on schools in peri-urban areas of Abuja.

“We pioneered the School Tour project in 2019 but experienced a disruption brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic that struck in 2020. With the pandemic receding, we have started ​​implementing a second phase focusing on sustainability and community adoption.”

She expressed her delight at Commonwealth of Learning’s support, saying, “This partnership extends the scope of intervention to more schools in the peri-urban areas. Thus, more disadvantaged students will gain digital skills and stand a chance at employability and economic advancement.”

Mignon Alphonso, Gender Adviser at the Commonwealth of Learning, said, “creating, engaging, and ensuring women and girls are reflected in technology-related education and careers is important in narrowing the gender digital divide. COL is excited to be part of this innovative approach that we hope will be replicated for future initiatives of its type.”

The Commonwealth of Learning, created by the Commonwealth Heads of Government, is a Canada-based intergovernmental organisation solely concerned with promoting and developing distance education and open learning. Over the years, it has created and widened access to opportunities for learning through distance education and the application of communication technologies to education.

The TechHer School Tour under the digital literacy strand has reached over 1000 school kids in over ten rural schools since its inception in 2019.