THE Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa'I, has pledged Federal Government's support for the development of infrastructure that would enhance Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the nation's polytechnics.
According to the minister, the ICT capacity building, which the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) is expected to coordinate within the polytechnics and other tertiary institutions under the purview of the Board, was part of the importance attached to the development of Internet connectivity networks in the education sector.
While noting that the Federal Ministry of Education "attached greater relevance to such networks in line with our vision and aspirations as contained in the four-year Strategic Action Plan for 2012-2015," Rufa'i, in an address delivered at the opening of the Nigerian Network Operators Group (ngNOG) workshop held at the Kaduna Polytechnic Tuesday, said, "we are aware of about 28 critical areas of the Strategic Action Plan as they affect the NBTE in moving the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) forward".
Rufa'i explained that, "the ngNOG as a forum for cooperation and the exchange of technical information between operators of Internet-connected networks in Nigeria is expected to play a vital role in the transformation of our educational sector, especially the TVET subsector".
The minister who was represented at the occasion by her Special Adviser, Prof. Sagir Abass Adamu, further stated: "We are conscious of the rich content of Internet resource in all aspects and at all levels of education, which informed the reasons for convening this important workshop. As an annual event, ngNOG's workshop and meetings have become a veritable forum for evolving the content, tracks, style and delivery in response to the needs of Nigerian network operators' community".
"Although participation in this type of forum is open to all, I wish to observe that for quite sometimes now, it has been dominated mainly by the universities and the private sector. I am, therefore, pleased to note that NBTE is not only hosting it this year for the first time, but would seize the opportunity to encourage polytechnics and other TVET institutions under its regulatory purview to actively participate and tap from its abundant e-resources".
The NBTE Executive Secretary, Dr. Mas'udu Adamu Kazaure, in his speech highlighted the activities of ngNOG, stressing that, "it is part of the larger Nigeria ICT Forum of partnership institutions, an initiative of Nigerian Research and Education institutions through the instrumentality of the Committee of Vice Chancellors and their ICT Coordinators at the Dar-es-Salaam meeting in 2004 on Partnership for Higher Education in Africa (PHEA)".
The Rector, Kaduna Polytechnic (KADPOLY), Dr. Mohammed Bello Ibrahim said, "the management of the polytechnic is working towards networking all lectures in the institution, networking the library, registry, bursary, medical centre and other activities in order to consolidate in its dominance among technical institutions in the country".
