Many within the shores of Nigeria may still be ignorant, or perhaps claim ignorance, of the term ‘N-Power’. Hence, it’s a youth empowerment scheme sponsored by the Federal Government (FG) as the slogan goes ‘Empowering Nigerian youths for posterity’.
N-Power is targeted to address the challenge of youth unemployment while linking its core and outcomes to fixing inadequate public services and stimulating the larger economy. It aspires to provide a platform where most Nigerians can assess skills acquisition and development.
Its target beneficiaries are Nigerian citizens between the ages of 18 and 35. The modular programmes under the scheme ensure that each participant learns and practices most of what is necessary to find or create work. It’s broadly classified into two categories namely, N-Power Graduate Category and N-Power Non-Graduate Category.
Three weeks back at the 2018 Convocation and 70th Foundation Day Ceremonies of the revered University of Ibadan (UI), Oyo State, the Nigeria’s Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo boldly and proudly described the ongoing N-Power initiative as a veritable technology platform that’s boosting the education sector.
Prof. Osinbajo, who represented President Muhammadu Buhari as the Visitor to the institution, said “The N-Power employment and training scheme of the Federal Government provides a technology platform to boost education”. He categorically boasted that it offers a technology platform to train teachers quickly and efficiently, aside the existing traditional training institutes.
The number two citizen of the country disclosed thus “N-Power, our employment and skills training programme, now employs 500,000 young men and women who were hired using a technology platform developed by young Nigerians” as he went further to tender that under the initiative, the FG have had the collaboration of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Oracle Academy, Microsoft, Cisco Academy and International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation.
As we as a people have apparently come to realize that the modern-day education cannot be said to be whole if technology is missing or it fails to be tech-driven, it’s equally pertinent for us to acknowledge wholly that the best way to inculcate technology into a given system is to commence from the foundation.
In view of this, we mustn’t overlook the elementary study stage in the country known as the primary school coupled with the secondary. Time has really come for our young learners to be fully brought very close to technical knowledge to enable them squarely face the realities of life when they eventually encounter them in the near future. So, our various schools’ curricula need to be reviewed towards suiting this quest.
It’s noteworthy that China as a country is where she is today simply because the governments at all levels therein were able to engage the growing ones into technologically-oriented disciplines. Parents in such a nation are saddled with the responsibility of discovering the talents of their respective wards from day-one. By so doing, they would be duly encouraged by all means to develop the skills.
Talking about collaboration, it has also become imperative for the government, particularly the various coordinators of the N-Power, to start looking inwards with a view to ensuring that the country’s indigenous patents are given a sense of belonging. Time has gone when the universities among other tertiary citadels of learning were seen as places where only teaching takes place, forgetting that research works supposedly begin from such areas.
In the said speech, the law professor further hinted that in the next few years, both teachers’ training and teaching would be largely driven by technology with university education – especially scientific research – made easy by virtual reality and artificial intelligence tools.
It’s however worthy of note that such an anticipation can only be actualized by revisiting the extant policies that bind the system in question. The bitter truth remains that most of the policies guiding the country’s education sector are archaic and outdated, hence require urgent review towards overhauling them. This can be well achieved by wearing the required political will not unlike clothe.
I’m glad in his words, Prof. Osinbajo candidly acknowledged that there had been gap in the country’s educational attainment. He disclosed, therefore, that such lapse had made it clear that we have to change both the substance of education our children receive and the methods by which they are taught.
If this avowal actually came from a sincere mindset, then it’s needless to reiterate that there’s a compelling need to start taking our laboratories, libraries, workshops, learning curriculums, as well as other learning facilities very seriously as this is arguably the only way we could attain our dream society as regards education imbued with technology.
Regarding funding, Prof. Osinbajo equally noted that education could not be left to the government alone, opining none of the world’s leading universities depend solely or even substantially on government’s funding. He thus added that all have evolved innovative means of financing and investment to meet their funding needs and become financially sustainable.
If the above assertion holds water, then it’s unequivocally preposterous to include the said institutions in the ongoing Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy that forbids financial autonomy among the FG’s establishments. They ought to, henceforth, be liberated in this regard.
The public was equally notified by the vice-president in the said occasion that the government’s policy was to develop and introduce science, engineering, arts and mathematics education curriculum in primary and secondary schools. According to him, the curriculum covers training in skills in cross disciplinary, critical and creative thinking, problem solving and digital technologies, coding, digital arts, design thinking as well as robotics.
We must take into cognizance that no matter how much we make effort to inculcate technically-oriented teaching via introduction of viable policies, the rules and regulations can never be aptly adhered to if proper monitoring teams and mechanisms aren’t established in respect of such lofty motive.
Summarily, as the N-Power scheme ostensibly continues to gain momentum and reportedly gathers accolades, the government must comprehend that wholesome policies and enabling environments are the best factors that can make the acclaimed achievements of the initiative speak volumes. Think about it!
Comrade Nwaozor, tech expert, policy analyst &
rights activist, writes via frednwaozor@gmail.com
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