WorldStage— The Chairman, Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, Senator Mohammed Muntari Dandutse has commended the telecommunications industry for its contributions through corporate social responsibility initiatives to support children and expand access to learning through its various data initiatives for school children.
Noting that access to knowledge remains fundamental to Nigeria’s progress, the Senator stressed the need to ensure that no Nigerian child is left behind in accessing knowledge and educational opportunities.
Also in a goodwill message, the Chairman, House Committee on Communications, Hon. Peter Akpatason, commended the Nigerian Communications Commission for the initiative, describing the high cost of data as one of the most pressing barriers to learning in the digital age.
He reaffirmed the commitment of the House of Representatives to policies and legislative measures that leverage technology to bridge the education gap, particularly for learners in underserved and hard-to-reach communities.
Also speaking on the initiative, the Minister of Education, Dr. Rauf Tunji Alausa, highlighted the growing role of the telecommunications industry in education, noting that connectivity is increasingly becoming as essential to learning as classrooms, textbooks and laboratories.
He called for sustained collaboration among the Ministry, State Governments, the Nigerian Communications Commission, telecommunications operators, technology companies, development partners, educational institutions and teachers to ensure that digital education is accessible, safe and relevant.
He added that Nigeria must go beyond producing young people who merely consume technology to developing a generation that can create technology, innovate, solve problems and compete globally.
Dr. Alausa assured that the Federal Ministry of Education would continue to work closely with the Nigerian Communications Commission, State Governments, telecommunications operators, educational institutions, development partners and other stakeholders to translate the initiative into lasting impact for Nigerian learners.
He reaffirmed his commitment to advancing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda in education by breaking barriers to learning, expanding opportunity and harnessing technology to build an education system where geography does not determine a child’s future, poverty does not close the door to knowledge, and every Nigerian learner has the opportunity to realise his or her full potential.
