Kwara govt flags off digital, coding course for pupils across 50 public schools

The Kwara State Government has flagged off a Coding and Digital Literacy training programme for at least 50 public primary and junior secondary schools across the state.

The programme was organised by the Office of the Special Assistant to the Governor on Digital and Innovation, Hon. Ishola Kayode.

Flagging off the programme on behalf of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, Senior Adviser and Counsellor to the Governor, Alhaji Sa’adu Salau, said the digital coding initiative was to strengthen the impactful investments of the administration in the education sector.

Salau said the initiative targets over 150 students in each of the 50 schools for the pilot scheme.

“We are now faced with the reality of the digital revolution. So, what we have done today is to flag off the training for digital literacy in 50 schools in Kwara State,” he said at the symbolic launch at Bishop’s Smith Junior Secondary School Ilorin.

“It is our expectation that with the foundation-laying of a digital society for this generation, the children of Kwara State would not lag behind among their counterparts globally.”

Other public schools in the capital city where the pilot scheme launched included Queen Elizabeth School, Ilorin Grammar School, and Sheikh Alimi L.G.E.A Primary School.

Hon. Ishola, for his part, said the programme was to ensure that public school students are not lagging behind in the digital world.

“They should be digitally literate, they should be able to solve problems in their communities because the problems can be solved with the knowledge of technology, and if you don’t have that knowledge, you can’t actually solve the problems,” he said.

“The selection of 50 schools was to serve as a pilot scheme. Fifteen schools are selected from Kwara Central, 13 from the North, while 22 are picked from the southern part of the state.”

He said the programme will be expanded after the data-driven assessment.

The Principal of Bishop’s Smith College (Junior Session), Mrs Akanbi Janet Ayoola, said the project is one of the best decisions the Governor has taken in an era where information technology and artificial intelligence have become a necessity of life.

Opadili Dorcas Boluwatife and Akinola Kolawole Abdulrahman, among other students who spoke at the ceremony, thanked the state government for the initiative.

They promised to make good use of the opportunity that they said would enable them to compete favourably with their counterparts globally in the digital revolution.

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