We’re leveraging on technology to enhance education, healthcare – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has said his administration was leveraging on technology to enhance human productivity in education, healthcare as well as ensure job creation for young people, a thriving economy and bigger cultural influence for Nigeria globally.

The President stated this at the graduation ceremony of Senior Executive Course 41 of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) in Kuru near Jos on Saturday. Course 41 is supported by the Development Research and Projects Centre under the partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health.

Daily Trust reports that President Buhari who was represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, said the N-Power Creative as envisioned by the current administration will stimulate the development of creative and technological skills in young Nigerians in a studio environment with 2D and 3D animation, storyboarding, illustration, scriptwriting, voice acting and post-production skills.

“In its first year, the programme will train 3,000 young Nigerians. 1,500 young Nigerians from the South West, South-South and South East were in Benin between July and August this year learning these creative skills. Another 1,500 from the North East, North West and North Central have undertaken a similar exercise,” he said.

The Vice President explained that Healthcare is another area where technology is revolutionizing value chains adding that the current administration was already in discussions with Nigerian medical experts in diaspora about the use of telemedicine as well as deployment of teaching aids via WiFi enabled or USSD means to train paramedics in far flung rural communities.

Given the country’s limited resources and the current gaps in educational attainment, he said Nigeria must change both the substance of education that its children receive as well as the methods by which they are educated

He said this informs the policy in the introduction of a Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STEAM) curriculum in primary and secondary schools stressing that “A country wide curriculum is in development with coding, digital arts, design thinking, robotics, critical thinking and other skills taken into account in interpreting traditional curriculum topics.”