NITDA urges summit participants to adopt digital technological skills
NITDA urges summit participants to adopt digital technological skills
Skills
By Tolu Aiyegbusi
Abuja, March 4, 2020 (NAN) The Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, Mr Kashifu Inuwa, has advised participants at an Educational Technology (EdTech) summit to adopt and leverage on digital technological skills to become key players in the digital economy.
Inuwa gave the advice in Abuja while addressing participants at the ongoing EdTech Summit and Awards organised by Federal Ministry of Education in collaboration with AFRITEX.
The summit was organised to bring critical stakeholders together in order to share and harmonise ideas towards developing a National Educational Technology Plan for the country.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Afritex is an investment holding company with strategic investments in Africa, active in fishing operations that market seafood to a global community.
According to NITDA boss, digital technology is changing the landscape and the many ways we do things.
He added that the disruptive tendencies of digital technology were not only affecting the way we lived but also the way we learnt or acquired education.
“There are applications that close the gap between what is learnt and what ought to be learnt.
“Digital technology is changing the way we learn.
“The pillars of educational sector which are content, delivery and teaching have now been disrupted.
“It is time for you to reap from the potential and benefits of digital technology by acquiring digital skills which are more rewarding than educational certificates,’’ he said.
Inuwa while addressing the participants, mostly students, said that immediately he got his Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) certification, he got five different job offers which he could not think of getting with his academic qualification.
“The CCIE is a series of technical certifications for senior networking professionals who design, build, implement, maintain and troubleshoot complex enterprise networking infrastructure.
“”In less than a year, I got a job and recouped investment on the certification.
“I will urge our students to embrace digital technology and acquire digital skills because it is the future of work,” he said.
Inuwa said that the Agency has donated e-learning facilities to many tertiary institutions in the country.
“We, like you all in the education sector, believe that education is one of the most powerful instruments for reducing poverty, exclusion and lays a foundation for sustainable development with the help of ICT,” he said.
He disclosed that capacity building and digital inclusion are very important focus areas for us at NITDA.
“We have 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.
“These facilities can be used to apply the new ways of teaching and learning as EdTech becomes more popular,” he said.
NAN reports that participants at the two-day 2020 EdTech Summit were drawn from the Academia, Public and Private Sector. (NAN)
TOLU/FF/DCU
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Edited by Fela Fashoro/Donald Ugwu