The Niger State Government has announced plans to equip all government schools with one million computers and tablets as part of its drive to enhance education through technology.
Governor Mohammed Bago disclosed this at the traditional and religious leaders conference on the significance of girls education in the North Central geopolitical zone of the country.
The conference was held in Minna, the Niger State capital.
The programme was put together by the Federal Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning & Empowerment (AGILE), the Niger State Ministry of Basic education and the Sultan Foundation.
Bago, who said the world has moved on technologically, said that the procurement of the computers and tablets, which has commenced, is to ensure that pupils and students in government schools have access to the gadgets.
He also disclosed that the state government has laid fibre optics cables, to provide free internet services to public schools and other government institutions, explaining that the pilot scheme of the initiative will soon commence in Minna.
Bago reaffirmed that the state government is in tandem with the vision of AGILE in ensuring that the girl child is educated; hence, the state government has a 10-year programme which will provide scholarships to 1,000 females every year to study nursing, medicine and other medical courses.
He said the state government has attached importance to girl children, and it is rolling out many initiatives, including the call centre project that would see many females becoming call operators.
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alh. Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, in his remarks, said the ultimate goal of the conference is for the traditional and religious leaders to champion and campaign for girl child education.
The Minister of Education, Olatunji Alausa, represented by the Director in the Ministry, who is also the Principal of Federal Government College Minna, Suraju Darda’u, highlighted the crucial role of traditional and religious leaders in society and enjoined them to intensify actions in creating awareness among their subjects on the need to educate female children.
The Commissioner for Basic and Sec Education, Hadiza Asabe Mohd, acknowledged that the North Central geopolitical zone, like other regions, faces numerous challenges, including low literacy rates, gender inequality, and limited access to quality education, particularly for girls
She, however, expressed hope that the conference will go along in recognising that education is the key to unlocking the potential of young women to have better jobs and contribute meaningfully to societal growth and development.
The Project Coordinator AGILE Project, Amina Haruna, in an overview of the project, explained that the objective is to improve adolescent girls in secondary schools and to see how they can become good role models.
She revealed that some policies of Governor Bago such as the domestication of child’s rights and adoption of the national policy on gender education are some factors considered for Niger State to be part of the 18 benefitting states.