THE Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has called on the federal government to mainstream innovation into school’s curriculum to foster better learning outcomes.
CITAD made the call at the end of a one-day Webinar on digital transformation of the educational sector in Nigeria held on Wednesday, March 10, 2021, where it also called on parents to encourage creativity in children by allowing them to share their creative work and showing appreciation to each child’s unique creative output.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the Webinar, signed by Ali Sabo, CITAD’s Communications and Campaigns Officer, CITAD also recommended that ICT policies should be developed at state levels to serve as a roadmap to actualize digital skills needs.
It among other things recommended that mobile network providers should support accessibility in schools by keying to universal service provision principles in addition to their statutory commitment to the Universal Service Provision fund (USPF), that there is the need to review the present curriculum to further update more digital skills, that governments, both at state and national levels, should leverage on the capabilities of present-day technology and continuously stay updated and the need to integrate ICT in teacher recruitment, deployment and retention and train those teachers on digital skills to impart knowledge to the wider students.
Other recommendations include the need to enrol teachers and educationists in ICT skills’ training for them to understand the current practices in the education sector; the need for educators to guide children to interact using technology and highlight how this integration forms playful play structures for both the students and their peers, and the imperative for parents and teachers to provide children with opportunities to express their creativity through colour, music, dance, etc.
According to the CITAD, the webinar was organised to provide the opportunity for stakeholders to interrogate how ICTs are used in school both for learning and for running the schools, understand the challenges of preparing the upcoming generations and propose pathways for enhancing the deployment of technology to improve learning outcomes.
The webinar was chaired by Professor A. L. Tukur, Vice Chancellor, Modibbo Adama University, Yola, while the keynote address was delivered by Professor Garba Azare, the Executive Secretary of the National Teachers Institute on the theme: “Leading the Digital Revolution in Schools”.
Two main presentations were made, which include, “Supporting Creativity and Innovation in Schools: Preparing the next Digital Nitizens,” by Ms Aissata Sow, Country Programs Lead, Nigeria & Digital Economy Lead, MasterCard Foundation; and “Promoting Creativity and Innovation among School Children,” by Mr. Amos Emma, Chairman/Chief Software Architect for Programos Software Group.
The webinar participants noted, among other things, the need for students/pupils to be first exposed to creativity before they learn to share content through ICT platforms such as blogs, videos, and photos, as this allows them to discover new ideas and process their thoughts in a resourceful and imaginative way.
Participants also noted that transforming the educational sector will help students in the country to compete globally with their peers in other countries; that there is low political interest by some state governors in promoting digital access in schools and that schools in the country are not well-equipped to adapt to the transformation agenda.
They also identified that the rapid evolution of digital technology is having a significant impact on corporate industries and is serving to provide exciting new opportunities, maximize efficiencies, increase collaboration and reduce costs.
“As the educational sector becomes more competitive, digital transformation is now becoming a necessary means of survival as this new digital world requires educators to adapt and adopt digital technologies, methodologies and mindsets.
“Proper integration of technology in the learning environment gives children the opportunity to develop social interaction and collaboration.
“If the schools can be digitally transformed, they will help the students to be independent even after school because they can use the knowledge they get to empower themselves and others in the society,” the communiqué noted the participants to have also observed.
