250,000 Edo students to benefit from coding, web programming training

Not less than 250,000 students in Edo State public schools are to benefit from a training programme in coding and web programming organised by the State Government in partnership with the German tech giant, SAP and Coder in Africa.

The training is part of efforts to leverage Information Communication Technologies (ICT) to boost digital literacy skills in secondary schools across the state.

Experts from the German tech company, SAP and Code In Africa, tutored over 1,700 teachers in a train-the-trainer programme, which ensures that the knowledge cascades to students in secondary schools in the state. About 250,000 students will benefit from the second leg of the training programme.

Executive Director, Edo State Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Yuwa Naps, said the programme is aimed at assisting students in secondary schools to acquire skills in programming language and also equip them to appreciate digital technology.

She said after the completion of the training for the trainers, the second leg of the exercise will commence from 14 to 24 of October, in schools across the state’s three senatorial districts.

Naps noted, “in 2018, over 500 public school teachers and 140,000 students across the state benefitted from the programme. One of the teachers, Mrs Oyakhilome, was sponsored by SAP to attend the 2019 ICT Women Empowerment Workshop in Casablanca, Morocco. We are hoping that this year, we will be able to get two or more people to represent us.”

Mrs. Omokaro Isoken, a Computer Studies teacher in Oredo Girls Senior Secondary School, expressed appreciation to the state government and its partners for the programme, adding “This will also make learning interesting for our students. It will also direct their interest in ICT.”

Executive Director, Coder In Africa, Mr Akiniyi Obaide explained that the programme “is a starter education for children which has been accepted by most technology giants across the world. It is targeted at children aged 9-16 years. The vision of the programme is to help these children in lifting their families out of poverty.”