By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has urged stakeholders in the education sector to design the curricula of primary and secondary schools to prepare them for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
This call was made by the Director-General of the agency, Mr Kashifu Abdullahi, at the National Olympiad Award Ceremony organised by the National Mathematical Centre (NMC) in Abuja, where over 90 students from secondary schools across the federation who have performed exceptionally well in mathematics were recognised and awarded.
Represented by the Director, Corporate Planning Strategy, Mr Agu Collins Agu, the NITDA chief opined that it was important to review the curricula of both primary and secondary schools to have subjects that will help in inculcating the future-friendly workforce and prerequisite skills needed to thrive in the 4IR by providing mathematical toolkits to the students.
He noted that the greatest achievement of man was through Mathematics, adding that technologies like the computers, Big Data Analytics, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence etc, were innovations derived from the subject.
He said that the continuous pursuit of the process will help to demystify Mathematics, train and mentor more students in the subject.
He donated the Inclusive Digital Economy Toolkit on behalf of the agency to NMC. It is a motherboard designed in Nigeria to drive Smart City, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence among others.
He further encouraged the NMC to collaborate with the agency in the area of Research and Development (R&D) in order to make a quantum leap in technology and innovation ecosystem.
The NMC revealed that the award ceremony was aimed at encouraging more students to take on mathematics and own it, noting that many exceptional students have been beneficiaries and are studying in various institutions across the world.
