Digital Literacy: NITDA To Support Students Of Tertiary Institutions

By Oluwole Alao 

In its continuous effort to “Foster Digital Literacy and Cultivate Talents” in total alignment with the Presidential Priority Area of Reforming the Economy for Sustained Inclusive Growth, the National Information Technology Development Agency, (NITDA) has pledged its support to the academia by equipping students of tertiary institutions in the country with digital literacy and skills to make them employable.

This disclosure was made known by the Agency’s Director General, Kashifu Inuwa CCIE, at the 4^th Annual Global Meeting, themed “Pathways to Building Resilient African Higher Education for Economic Development” which was organised by the Forum for Innovation in African Universities (FIAU) for heads of tertiary institutions and other relevant stakeholders in Abuja.

The purpose for the forum was to harness ideas from participants in addressing employability gaps by aligning teaching and research with labour market needs, enhancing skills development and acquisition, infrastructure and technology adoption and diversifying revenue models to reduce over-dependency on public funding by tertiary institutions across the country.

In his goodwill message, Inuwa emphasised NITDA’s commitment to education and human capital development while highlighting digital literacy and skills as a central focus.

“Education and human capital development are major focuses of the National Information Technology Development Agency and one of our pillars is centred on human capital development which we call digital literacy for all Nigerians,” he stated.

Inuwa announced that NITDA is actively collaborating with universities within Nigeria and across Northern Africa, which includes institutions in Morocco; he said that the collaboration aims to build capacity that supports the government’s digital transformation agenda.

“We are developing a framework to enable collaboration with research institutions, mainly universities, to facilitate funding access in the technology sector,” Inuwa noted. “In addition, we are planning to deploy technology centres of excellence across Nigerian universities.”

While speaking on the Agency’s effort at deploying the technology centres of excellence in tertiary institutions across the country, he said that the first phase of the project is set to begin in January 2025 which will be covering 5 universities across Nigeria’s six geopolitical regions. He averred that the establishment of the centres is aimed at fostering innovation and supporting the country’s technological advancement.

He said, “Our developmental effort is deeply rooted in the Triple Helix model. This involves strategic roles played by the industry, academia, and government to ensure the success of our digital transformation initiatives.”