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NITDA Partners With Cousera to Train Nigerian Youths on Digital Skills

Nigeria’s National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has entered into a partnership with Coursera an online learning platform, to train 24,000 Nigerian youths on digital skills for a period of three years.

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Nigeria’s National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has entered into a partnership with Coursera, an online learning platform, to train 24,000 Nigerian youths on digital skills for a period of three years.

The Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, is spearheading this collaboration under the auspices of the NITDA in furtherance of its digital capacity-building initiative.

Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Professor Isa Pantami, called on Coursera to expand its presence in Nigeria, especially in the area of academic where it already has an existing partnership with one of Nigeria’s top universities, Covenant University. 

In his words, “we are championing a paradigm shift of prioritizing hard, soft and social skills over theory and this collaboration will go a long way in supporting this shift.

“Coursera is one of the world’s top online learning platforms hosting thousands of courses for some of the best universities and companies and has remained at the forefront of providing the global society with the education and resources it needs to build and maintain digital systems.

“Coursera is in partnership with Covenant University which is one of the best private universities in Nigeria based on their annual rankings and publications which I have keenly observed.

“I have no doubt that this partnership has had a huge impact on the institution’s excellent standing. I, therefore, request that Coursera engages more academic institutions, at least one, in each geo-political zone and bring their expertise to bear within the identified environments.”

As the world becomes increasingly dependent on digital technologies, the federal government of Nigeria in a bid to enhance digital transformation in the country has partnered with different firms/ agencies to foster the development of a sustainable digital economy, with its latest partnership with Coursera.

Before this recent partnership, the government had earlier this month signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with global tech giant, Microsoft Corporation, to train five million citizens on high-demand technological skills.

The World Bank reports that more than 50 percent of Nigeria’s population do not have digital skills, Investors King understands that with the recent partnerships by the federal government with firms to train the youths on digital skills, it will therefore bridge the gap in digital literacy in the country.

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Education

FG Abolishes 18-Year Age Benchmark For Admission Into Tertiary Institutions

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The new Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has abolished the controversial 18-year admission benchmark for tertiary institutions in the country.

This is coming as the minister indicated interest in reviewing the nation’s education policy.

However, Alausa stated that there would be no reversal of the Federal Government’s decision to void over 22,700-degree certificates obtained by Nigerians from some “fake” universities in neighbouring Togo and the Benin Republic.

Alausa spoke on Tuesday at his inaugural ministerial press conference in Abuja.

He stated that practical education will help to address the unemployment situation in Nigeria, as tertiary institutions will not continue to churn out graduates every year without providing jobs for them.

He disclosed that the Federal Government will collaborate with private sector operators to train students in order to discover and unleash their potential.

Alausa added that universities of agriculture will be empowered to adopt commercial farming practices to combat food insecurity.

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Education

NCC Confiscates ₦23 Million Worth of Pirated Books During Bookstores Raid In Uyo

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The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) on Saturday, November 2, confiscated ₦23.1 million in pirated books from local shops, including Academic Needs and Zion Bookshop during a raid in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

The raid was by the Deputy Director of Operations, Mr Macfoy Akachukwu, representing the NCC Director General, Dr. John Asein.

Akachukwu, who stated that the raid was a significant operation to combat the rampant sale of pirated books, listed the books seized during the raid to include: Basic Civic Education by Dr Merry Ukaegbu, Spectrum New Further Mathematics by T.R. Moses and Essential Christian Religious Study for Senior Secondary Schools by Orovwuje B.O and Okolie E.U.

Other books included Macmillan Brilliant English for Junior Secondary Schools by Wale Ossianwo, New General Basic Science for Junior Secondary Schools by S. Ajayi, New Oxford Secondary English Course for Secondary Schools by Ayo Banjo and New Concept Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools by H.N. Odogwu among others.

Major publishers affected by the raid included Evans, UPL, Lantern, Longman, TONAD, and Pearson among others.

According to Asein, the operation is important as it was part of a nationwide initiative to protect authors’ rights.

“What we have done is part of the commissions mandate to protect and promote the rights of authors and other genuine investors in the copyright book industry,” he stated.

He reaffirmed that the NCC is committed to “eliminating the sale of pirated works and to establish a robust copyright framework in Nigeria”.

Asein emphasized that authors deserve to benefit from their creative work and not run into financial losses because of piracy.

“It is our duty to ensure that authors get rewards for their creative work. I have under my watch, zero tolerance for piracy and infringement of Copyright Laws,” Asein said.

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Strike: Academic Activities Remain Grounded As NASU, FG Clash Over Half Salary Payment

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While the Federal Government and the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) continue to engage in discussions to end the ongoing strike, academic activities in the country have remained grounded leaving students in frustration.

Investors King in an earlier report detailed that the academic bodies directed its members to commence a nationwide indefinite strike from Monday over the nonpayment of four months withheld salaries.

The leaders of the two unions announced that the strike would start on Sunday, October 27, 2024.

JAC, in a circular to all branch chairmen of NASU and SSANU in the universities and inter-university centres, with the title: ‘Latest development in respect of the withheld four (4) months salaries’, and signed by Prince Peters Adeyemi, General Secretary of NASU and Comrade Mohammed Ibrahim, SSANU President, explained that the timing of the action was for effective co-ordination and for both unions to be on the same page.

After discussions with the unions, the FG through the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation on Saturday authorized a partial payment to the bodies and urged them to shelve the strike.

Reacting to this, JAC kicked against the FG’s approval of only one month out of the four months of withheld salaries.

The union officials, including SSANU National President, Mohammed Ibrahim, stated that the one-month salary is insufficient to meet their demands.

“Yes, they paid one month out of four months. We shall be meeting to appraise the situation, but not everyone has received their pay so far,” Ibrahim said.

The unions declared that the nationwide strike would continue until all demands are met and all withheld salaries paid.

JAC revealed that over 98 percent of union members across the country have complied with the strike.

Revealing the next step, Ibrahim said, “We plan to convene soon to determine further steps, and reaffirm our stance to remain on strike until the government fully addresses the salary backlog.”

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