The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has said that the federal government 95 per cent digital literacy target by 2030 is achievable just as it trained children on digital skills using Hausa language.
The Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Abdullahi Inuwa, stated this on Sunday at the graduation ceremony of 50 children, including 10 Almajiris at the Engausa Global Tech Hub in Kano.
The children were subjected to extensive training for two-weeks on innovative digital skills, computer networking, installation of CCTV camera, graphic design, innovative creativity, among others.
Engausa Global Tech Hub is an incubation centre, currently working in collaboration with NITDA in Kano, where young boys are trained at early stage, using Hausa language in building their skills on digital technology.
Inuwa said the centre had in 2021 trained over 700 young boys who were selected from various rural communities in the state, adding that he was very happy that the centre has brought young Almajiris into the system.
“We have been collaborating with Engausa like the founder said. As a result of intervention we have done for the centre last year, they had multiplied the number of people they trained. In 2021 they trained more than 700 people in this centre as a result of this collaboration,” he said.
The NITDA boss added that the agency has been expanding the collaboration and we are going to do more with them this year to see how we can help the less privileged children to have access to digital technology.
“We are also looking at how we can assist the children who have participated in this programme to start their own businesses.
“One of our mandates is to implement the policy under the National Digital Economy Policy for digital ³Nigeria to logical conclusion in achieving the 95 per cent digital literacy by 2030. You know government cannot do it alone; we need to partner with centres like Engausa to achieve this. So, we are working with them to even expand this centre beyond Kano to other states and also to see how we can equip them more,” he said.
Earlier, the founder of the centre, Mustapha Ringim, said the centre was established to bridge the productivity gap among young people, especially those who lack formal school training. “I realised that there are a lot of things that I can offer to the community concerning breaking some barriers and bridging some gaps which are limiting the productivity of our youth, especially the downtrodden ones at the grassroots, the Almajiris, and school-drop-outs who cannot continue their studies due to lack of proficiency in English language, among other things,” he said.
According to Ringinm, language should not be a barrier to achieving one’s dream, especially when it comes to global world.
He said there were lots of developments in countries which do not speak English language saying that technology, innovation and creativity was flourishing in those countries.
“So, I realised that English language is not the only medium of learning skills, it is not the only medium of prosperity when it comes to knowledge and when it comes to practicing what you know.
That is why I break the language barrier of English and domesticated the technology and the skills I have in me so that the people will easily tap from my knowledge through the use of Hausa language for better understanding of the subject matter,” he said.
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