Experts harp on use of EdTech to tackle 98m out-of-school children

• FG okays $2bn for deployment of 90,000km fibre optic cables

Policymakers , EdTech innovators, data scientists, investors and philanthropists in Africa have harped on use of education technology to tackle the 98 million out-of-school children on the continent.
 
This comes as the Federal Government has approved a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to support the deployment of an additional 90,000km of fibre optic cable for universal access to the internet across Nigeria.
 
They spoke in Abuja, on Monday at the inaugural EdTech Conference organised by Mastercard Foundation in partnership with the Federal Government of Nigeria with the theme ‘Education Technology for Resilient and Inclusive Learning in Africa.’
 
The three-day event which runs to July 10, hosts participants from 28 African countries as well as over 50 EdTech companies across the continent.
 
Minister of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, said the project would increase Nigeria’s fibre optic cable capacity from 35,000 kilometres to 125,000 km, making it Africa’s third-longest terrestrial fibre optic backbone behind South Africa and Egypt.
 
He said the deployment will start in the next eight to 12 months as the government has started putting together the $2billion fund needed to achieve the project.
 
Tijani said the project would strengthen internet connectivity in schools, hospitals and critical institutions once it was deployed. He also stressed the need to bring teachers in public schools up to speed with technological innovation in the sector rather than resort to analogue practice.
 
On his part, Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, expressed the determination of the Federal Government to deploy the DOTS project to overhaul the education sector, increase enrolment and ensure the academic security of the nation’s children.
 
Making his presentation, Mamman said DOTS is an acronym representing: Data Repository, Out-of-School Children’s Education, Teacher Training and Development, and Skill Development and Acquisition. He said the project would tackle paucity of coordinated, verifiable, and authentic data in all aspects of the education sector in Nigeria.
 
According to a data released by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), 98 million children and youth between the ages of six and 18 are still out of schools in sub-Saharan Africa, with Nigeria having 20 million out of that figure.
 
Disputing the figures, the Minister said the data census on the education sector, would put paid to the controversy and give the official government position on out-of-school children in the country.

The post Experts harp on use of EdTech to tackle 98m out-of-school children appeared first on Guardian Nigeria News.