The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy,
Dr Isa Pantami has urged girl’s child to focus on digital skills, digital innovation and digital entrepreneurship than certificates.
Pantami disclosed this on Tuesday 18th February,
2020 in Abuja at the National ICT Girls Empowerment Competition: Final
Evaluation and Prize Giving Ceremony with the theme: “ICT Innovation for
Inclusion in a Digital Economy”
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in
2010 established the International Girls in ICT day, which is celebrated
annually to give girls and young women the privilege to learn about the
opportunities offered by ICTs, thereby inspiring them to consider careers in
the ICT fields and join the tech industry.
The programme is to engage the youth as part of
mentorship guide to them and most importantly to change their perception from
being potential job seekers, to potential job providers.
Pantami explained that digital economy was not about
obtaining certificates but rather about digital skills, innovation and
entrepreneurship, which has higher priority in this aspect.
He said that with digital skills, one can come up
with an application that would provide jobs for thousands of people in Nigeria,
adding that with what can be generated through that, no institution can easily
generate that in Nigeria.
“A situation whereby you obtain certificates and
have digital skills at the same time should be a priority.
“Certificates are commendable and very important to
obtain. It is preferably to have the certificate and get the digital skills at
the same time.
“Certificates without skills are really misleading,
we have many intellectual giants globally in the digital world, they do not
have any strong certificates to present.
“What we are after in the digital circle is to come
and demonstrate what you can do. We are after your own output not papers that
can be presented.
“We will be able to change the perception so that
they will be part of becoming potential job employers instead of employees and
I think that is key to our challenges in Nigeria ,” he said.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr
M.F. Istifanus, said that the programme was part of the ministry efforts to
raise awareness by empowering and to encouraging girls and young women in ICT.
Istifanus, who was represented by the Director of
Human Resource Management, El-Baff Mahdi, said that the he looked forward to
the outcome of the event in creating awareness and discovery of new ways of
using ICT.
In his goodwill message, Prof. Suleiman Bogoro,
Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) commended
Pantami for the inventions in the ministry.
Bogoro described digital economy as a knowledge
economy, which was facilitated by digital technology and innovation.
“For us in the tertiary institutions, we are excited
to see what the ministry is doing. A lot of inventions have been brought by the
Minister, he deserves our commendation and acknowledgement,” he said.
Six schools both public and private, participated in
an ICT presentation and Government Secondary School Jakande, Lagos State
emerged the overall winner of the competition.
Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy has
been celebrating Girls in ICT Day as an annual event since 2015.
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