The Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Sununu has said that the ministry would continue to prioritise the application of technology in education for informed decisions.
Sununu said this in Abuja on Wednesday, at the 2024 Information Technology Professionals’ Assembly.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the assembly with the theme: ‘Artificial Intelligence: An Enabler for Economic Transformation and Sustainable Development’, was organised by the Computer Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN).
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The Minister emphasised the importance of technology in providing students with access to online resources as well as encouraging researches.
“In the last few days, President Bola Tinubu has approved the project of the education which encapsulated the generation of overall data of all school in Nigeria right from kindergarten to our tertiary institutions.
“This will enable us to have the actual data and number of students, their performances, the number of schools and their current status, so that where we need to intervene and otherwise we can,” he said.
Sununu said the ministry is collaborating with other governmental agencies to ensure a comprehensive data of out-of-school children.
He recalled that one of the campaign promises of the Tinubu’s administration was to move out-of-school children from street back to school.
“It is worrisome that Nigeria has first position in the number of out-of-school children globally.
“Over 20 million out-of-school children is unacceptable and that’s why we must find solution to it,” he said.
The Minister commended the efforts of the council at eliminating quackery in the profession, urging them to redouble their strategies at ridding quackery out of the system.
“Your efforts at eliminating quackery in the profession through the registration of individuals and corporate organisations that are practicing Information Technology have not been unnoticed.
“The Federal Ministry of Education is conscious of your efforts at enforcing the Act that established CPN by making it mandatory for all individuals and corporate organisations that are practicing IT in Nigeria to be duly registered with CPN.
“The global practice is for professionals to regulate their profession properly in order to exterminate quacks and undesirable elements from making incursions into the profession.
“Therefore, all individuals and corporate organisations that are into Information Technology practice should register with CPN to allow for effective regulation of computer education and practice in Nigeria,” he said.
The minister, therefore, urged the council to align with the vision of the administration in their programmes and activities so that it would not be a mirage.
The President and Chairman of CPN, Mr Kole Jagun, said the IT Professionals’ Assembly had continued to set the tenor and directions for IT policies for successive governments.
He said this was part of the various initiatives of the Council to ensure that Nigeria is positioned to take maximum advantage of the knowledged-based economy globally.
He noted that 400 new members would be inducted into the profession on Thursday.
“There is no doubt that our profession is a critical sector to the development of any nation in this modern world.
“In fact, no meaningful development can take place if the Information Technology sector is prostrate.
“That is why we have to be alive to our responsibility of moving with the dynamics and realities in the world.
The profession has evolved and should take the centre stage of national development,” he said. (NAN)
