The regulatory body in charge of IT in Nigeria, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has announced plans to improve the quality of education in Nigeria through ICT.
The plan, which is in partnership with the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), is to assist Nigerian tertiary institutions with access to emerging technologies.
Director-General Isa Pantami made the announcement last Friday during the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two parties. This comes barely two weeks after the agency outlined five new regulations for the ICT sector.
He stated that although most tertiary institutions in the country already use information and communication technology in their activities, there is a need to be on par with global institutions leveraging emerging technologies.
"So many schools in Nigeria do not have old records of their activities and when past students misplace results or certificates, they only engage in swearing court affidavits. However, with blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, and other forms of modern-day technology, schools can digitise their activities, thus save cost and energy and ensure efficiency. Our universities are becoming highly populated, but with IT, we can make easier the learning process which will decongest the classrooms," he said.
Although NITDA has been set up to implement, develop, and regulate the country's IT policy through standards and guidelines, the director-general noted that the agency couldn’t fulfil its mandate on its own. Hence, the agency's partnership with the education trust fund is considered both strategic and important in the implementation of this new proposition.
Only time will tell whether the agency's continuing initiatives on technology in the nation will eventually materialise.
