The state-of-the-art status and conduciveness of the ICT Institute built by the chairman of Odi-Olowo/Ojuwoye LCDA, Hon. Rasaq Olusola Ajala at Ajenifuja, Ilupeju, Lagos, has earned the admiration of the Federal Ministry of Education, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Nigeria Learning Platform (NLP), Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning Empowerment (AGILE), and World Bank Group as they settled for the institute as the training venue for not less than 200 Public secondary school teachers.
As gathered by Theliberationnews, the three-day intensive training held from Tuesday 26th, Thursday 28th – Friday 29th September, was a capacity enhancement project on Remote Learning Platforms; aimed at assisting Senior Secondary School Teachers to acquire Digital Literacy Skills through a blended learning approach; navigating them through the rudiments of E-learning and Multimedia Content Creation/Development.
The platform, which is also committed to offering tailored educational pathways that cater for a diverse range of users-including students, teachers, parents, administrators and caregivers, was launched February, last year, by UNICEF Nigeria, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education, and powered by Microsoft to address learning crisis in the country.
A representative of the Federal Government at the training (who spoke anonymously during interview), said that the training would not only provide a platform for teachers to earn self-development credits from the National Teachers Council, but would also expose them to live tutoring opportunities.
While examining the benefits of the program, he equally commended the Executive Chairman of Odi-Olowo/Ojuwoye LCDA, Hon. Rasaq Olusola Ajala, for putting in place, a top-notch standard ICT facility (at the local level) which equipped them, necessary gadgets, needed for the training.
“I have gone through the centre & its facilities, they are great, I was also told that the Centre offers freely, different ICT courses for youths, which is a great empowerment for them: this takes them away from social vices and give them better opportunities in life”, he added.
More than 200 public Senior Secondary School teachers drawn from each of the Education Districts in the state were received at the ICT centre.
The teachers expressed their delights in the program, appreciated the Federal Ministry of Education together with its partners, adding that their capacities would be enhanced through the application of skills gained in the training.
At the training were representatives of the Federal Ministry of Education, representatives/Directors from Lagos State Ministry of Education, Nigeria Learning Passport (NLP) facilitators and Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning Empowerment (AGILE).
The Ajenifuja ICT centre is one of the two centres built by the council chairman. No fewer than 1,000 youths and teenagers in the council areas and beyond have been trained on various ICT courses at the centres with the latest being the 500 students who graduated from its free summer ICT Training in September.
Speaking on the impetus for setting up the ICT Facilities and the programs Ajala said it was in furtherance of his commitment to empower youths and teenagers in the council area with universal skills that will make them self-reliant.
His words: “It’s an obvious fact that the world us going digital and if you don’t want to be left out of what’s in vogue you have to align. As a government who has the interest of its people at heart, it became important for us to empower our youths and teenagers with digital skills that can make them self-dependent and also put them at vantage positions. Our trainings here are free and topnotch as we have the best hands training them.”
The council boss projected that no fewer than 5,000 youths would have been equipped with various ICT skills before the expiration of his tenure.
