The Kwara State Government has launched a Coding and Digital Literacy training program for at least 50 public primary and junior secondary schools across the state.
Mashood Agboola, Deputy Chief Press Secretary to Governor Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq, announced this in a statement.
The programme, organised by the Office of the Special Assistant to the Governor on Digital and Innovation, Hon. Ishola Kayode, aims to enhance digital skills among students.
Speaking on behalf of Governor AbdulRazaq at the launch, the Senior Adviser and Counselor to the Governor, Sa’adu Salau, stated that the initiative is designed to reinforce the administration’s impactful investments in the education sector.
According to Salau, the pilot phase targets over 150 students in each of the 50 selected schools.
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“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 the 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 was launched included Queen Elizabeth School, Ilorin Grammar School, and Sheikh Alimi L.G.E.A Primary School.
Ishola, for his part, said the programme aimed to ensure that public school students did not lag behind in the digital world.
“They should be digitally literate and able to solve problems in their communities because many challenges can be addressed with technological knowledge. Without that knowledge, problem-solving becomes difficult,” he said.
He explained that 50 schools were selected for the pilot scheme, with 15 from Kwara Central, 13 from the North, and 22 from the southern part of the state.
He added that the programme would be expanded following a data-driven assessment.
The Principal of Bishop’s Smith College (Junior Session), Akanbi Janet Ayoola, described the project as one of the governor’s best decisions, especially in an era where information technology and artificial intelligence have become necessities of life.
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Opadili Dorcas Boluwatife and Akinola Kolawole Abdulrahman, along with other students who spoke at the ceremony, expressed gratitude to the state government for the initiative.
They pledged to make the most of the opportunity, emphasising that it would enable them to compete favourably with their global counterparts in the digital revolution.
