Digitalisation of education in Kaduna North, by Mukhtar Muhammed

Education, they say, is the bedrock of any society’s civilization. It is fundamental to growth and development and the most powerful driving instrument of reducing poverty and improving health, peace and stability. However, education in this our 21st century has gone beyond reading, writing and arithmetic for it now has as its essentials the ability to work with information and communication technologies. According to UNESCO, ICT now permeates the educational environment and it underpins the very success of the 21st century education. Thus, the reason why ICT cannot be ignored.
Having said that, the education sector in Nigeria as a whole is confronted with many problems that could impede the proper implementation of these ICT programmes in schools, colleges and learning centres. Basic ICT infrastructure is grossly inadequate and where available, fluctuation in the supply of electricity to power the ICT materials and related telecommunication facilities is another serious issue. State and non state actors have been intervening but still, the gab is yet to be covered. These and many more challenges confronting the educational sector is what has made Hon. Shehu Bawa to rise up and stand for his people.
For those who don’t know, Hon. Usman S. Bawa, popularly known as Shehu ABG, is the member representing Kaduna North in Nigeria’s House of Representatives and doubles as the son of Alhaji Bawa Garba, that Kaduna-based reknowned business tycoon and telecommunications magnet, who founded the 1st Cable Satellite TV in West Africa. While as a business man his father chose to digitalize our TV screens with unseen and unheard technologies, Shehu ABG, as a politician, instead, chooses to digitalize several schools within his constituency, which is a milestone in the development of education and the people.
In his first intervention towards revolutionalising by digitalizing education with ICT appreciation in schools within his constituency, eight schools were selected and grouped as phase one for ABG’s digitalisation programme. These schools include Kaduna State University, Kaduna Capital School and Sardauna Memorial College. Others are Govt Secondary School Doka, Govt Secondary school Ungwan sarki (popularly known as black and white) and Government Girls Secondary School Independence Way Kaduna. A letter of communication has been sent to the school authorities of both Nuruddinil Islamee Society school Malali and Government Junior Secondary School Badarawa concerning the commencement and implementation of the ICT project in their respective schools within the next few weeks, Insha Allah.
Over 100 computers were supplied and donated to each of the selected schools. Kaduna Capital School and Kaduna State University each had in addition a new building complex constructed for them by Hon ABG to house the ICT centre with brand new sound proof standby generators, one each to both schools to power the ICT centres. The other selected schools equally benefited from renovation of blocks of classrooms that were converted to the schools’ ICT centres in addition to the solar panels provided to power the centres. Considering the nature of how important internet is and most especially to students, all the computers were given with a life time internet bandwidth. Government Girls Secondary School, Independence Way, whose ICT centre was gutted by fire few months after it became operational had to re-appeal to the donor to kindly renovate and supply the school with another set of computers, which Hon. ABG promised to do in the shortest time possible.
A recent inspection of the facilities in all the beneficiary schools by Hon. Shehu ABG, which took place on July 7, 2014, which I happened to be part of the external observers, made me to really appreciate the honourable’s kind gesture to his people. Most of the students of virtually all the schools inspected, who are most likely to be Nigeria’s Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg come tomorrow, were very happy to meet the man who brought digitalization into their lives and schools.
Hon. Shehu ABG, who is the Deputy Chairman House Committee on Communications, was able to bring down all these ‘School Access Programme’ facilities to the people of his constituency as provided by the ‘Universal Service Provision Fund. According to ABG: “This is the starting point of computerization of Public Schools in Kaduna North.”
With this I hereby conclude that our Honourale member from Kaduna North has kept it digital. Don’t allow yours to keep it analog. More grease to your elbow our digital honorable member. We appreciate you. Please keep it up.
Muhammed, who is a public affairs analyst, wrote from Ohinoyi Road, Ungwan Rimi, Kaduna. He can be reached on mukycent@gmail.com, 08038898506.