NCS mulls digital skills for primary, secondary schools

The Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), says information technology has become crucial part of “our daily lives”, hence, its decision to develop primary and secondary students on digital skills.

The President of NCS, Prof. Adeshina Sodiya, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.

He said technology was now considered an immeasurable asset in every aspect of human living,

Sodiya said “we will be launching a programme very soon, known as ‘Techminds’, to develop capacity in our kids. We want to start catching them young and let them know that technology is the way to go these days.

“Young kids abroad are already being exposed to coding and robotics as well as basic technological knowledge.

“The idea is that if the kids start developing these skills at that level by the time they get to tertiary institutions, they will be doing great in the area of information technology,” Sodiya said.

He said NCS is doing a lot in trying to develop professionals to support students of tertiary institutions.

Sodiya said ‘Techminds’ programme would be implemented by state chapters in collaboration with the ministry responsible for Information Technology development.

“We want the programme to be as practical as possible. Our kids are not interested in lectures.

“They are interested in what they use their hands to do and that is the kind of exposure we want to give them.

“We are going to provide support for pupils who are interested in IT throughout their developmental stages.

“We are going to start and continue to review it and make it better,” he said.

Sodiya, however, called on corporate organisations and individuals to support the young ones to be able to compete well with their international counterparts.