An organisation, Webfala Digital Skills for All Initiative, has trained no fewer than 45 teachers in both government and public secondary schools on digital technology in Kwara State.

The teachers at the end of the workshop are expected to in turn impart the knowhow on their respective pupils, the initiative founder, Nafisat Bakare, has said.

She said this in Ilorin, Kwara State capital while declaring the workshop open.

Mrs. Bakare, who doubles as the Executive Director of the organisation, added that the organisation in collaboration with the United States-based Scratch Foundation, decided to launch a book during the training.

The book is entitled: ‘Coding and art: Scratch your brain and crack the codes.’

“The training is to encourage learners to have interest in science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (STEAM) education.

“The incorporation of art is because of its creative nature as that is capable of igniting the interest of young learners,” she said.

She appealed to the Kwara State Ministry of Education to organise training and retraining programmes for its teachers.

She added that “teachers need to learn and relearn. The state ministry of education can partner with our organization for the training and retraining of its teachers and students on digital technology.

“This will make the teachers more relevant and valuable in this era of digitalisation. The world is evolving and to be relevant in the evolving world, there is the need for the teachers to acquire digital and literacy skills.

“For our young learners to be competitive, we need to equip them with digital skills. That is why our organisation is having remarkable collaboration with Scratch Foundation to launch this book. The book is aimed at training young learners the basics of scratch prigramming, ICT and others.

“For easy understanding, the book has been translated into the three major ethnic languages of Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo.”

The organisation’s Director of Communications and Strategy, Hameed Muritala, said it had become imperative for schools to include the teaching of digital skills in their curriculum and expose their students to opportunities in technology, stressing that “acquiring digital skills is a must for every young person in this 21st century”.

“In our primary and secondary schools across Nigeria, subjects like Mathematics, English and Biology are compulsory subjects for all students. It is high-time for digital skills acquisition to assume that position. Digital literacy will facilitate critical thinking, innovation, economic growth and development,” he added.