New Horizons U-17 ICT competitions to boost ICT curriculum in schools

Nigeria’s private information and communications technology training institute, New Horizons at the weekend flagged off the first annual Under 17 national ICT competition to boost and elevate ICT curriculum and skills empowerment in primary and secondary schools level.

The competition will also stimulate a wider exploit and firmer grip of top range ICT skills within the national SSCE curriculum and other international ICT skills requirements like Cambridge, IGSCE, among others.

The capacity building program which will run till next month , according to the Mr. Bolaji Olaoye, General Ganager, Education services for the company is part of the IT training firm’s corporate social responsibility. He said that it would serve as a catalyst to bridge the knowledge gaps between Nigerian youths and their counterparts in other technology driven countries of the world.

He said the competition which would include participants from over 200 Nigerian schools would “involve two separate segments in primary and secondary schools levels and serve as an avenue to breed the technology whiz-kids of our time and upcoming generation who will form the nucleus of young industry captains that will transform the economy of Nigeriaand Africa in the shortest possible time.” According to him, the competition is a firmconviction that Nigeria can also be positioned as global ICT leading country and world champion the same way Nigeria had established itself as a consistent world champion in the Under-17 World football tournaments over the years.

He said “the mission is to catch our youths at tender school ages for high quality ICT Skills-oriented Programs that will foster the rapid growth and development of their technology skills-set and consequently place them at the frontal row of global champions’.

He informed that that necessary sensitization of schools for participation had started and that the initiative was approved by primary and technical stakeholders in the education and technology world some of which are, Lagos State Government Education and Science ministries, Comptia, Certiport, etc.