Technology is developing almost at the speed of lightning. New technologies such as artificial intelligence(AI), robotics, machine learning and more are changing how health care delivery, agriculture, and others are delivered across the world. LUCAS AJANAKU writes on the need for collaboration between the private and public sectors to tap into the immense opportunities of the internet.
Technology is arguably the 21st-century child’s currency. As toddlers, they learn to swipe the touch screens on electronic devices faster than nursery rhymes. Parents and guardians of these children expose them to modern technology as a pastime at an early stage. Animated videos, computer games, and other forms of entertainment have shaped the contemporary culture of youth development.
This trend has been received with harsh criticism in some quarters, especially by custodians of traditional culture, educators of children, and policymakers. Exposure to media content is considered a factor in the character formation of a child, therefore excessive exposure to digital media content may have an adverse impact on a child’s development. Researchers such as Akidi have blamed the poor reading culture of some students on digital intrusion.
On the contrary, another school of thought suggests that digital technology can help enhance education, reduce youth unemployment, and promote socio-economic development.
In an article by UoPeople, Technology was cited as a tool that provides access to numerous online resources that support independent learning and research for students. A 2022 review by the National Library of Medicine equally suggested that digital engagement via various technological devices, platforms, and tools has become necessary for youth to accomplish key developmental tasks.
Nigeria stands at a turning point, and there’s an opportunity to make technology the foundation for sustainable learning solutions so as to fill the tech manpower skill shortage on the continent.
And the figures are impressive. Total connected lines as at February, according to data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), stood at 227,179,946 while internet penetration rate stood at 55.4 per cent of the total population at the start of 2023. Kepios analysis indicates that internet users in Nigeria increased by 2.9 million (+2.4 per cent) between 2022 and 2023.
According to the World Bank, raising internet penetration to 75 per cent of the population in all developing countries (from the current level of approximately 35 percent) would add as much as $2 trillion to their collective gross domestic product (GDP) and create more than 140 million jobs around the world.
A 2011 research by McKinsey Global Institute entitled: “The great transformer: the impact of the internet on economic growth and prosperity”, noted that from an obscure network of researchers and technology experts three decades ago, the internet has become a day-to-day reality for more than a quarter of the world’s population. Today, two billion people are connected to the internet and almost $8 trillion exchange hands each year through e-commerce.
On its contribution to GDP growth, McKinsey said across a range of large and developed economies, the internet exerts a strong influence on economic growth rates.
“Our research shows that the internet accounts for, on average, 3.4 per cent of GDP across the large economies that make up 70 per cent of global GDP. If internet consumption and expenditures were a sector, its weight in GDP would be bigger than energy or agriculture industry. The internet’s total contribution to global GDP is bigger than the GDP of Spain or Canada, and it is growing faster than the GDP of Brazil,” the McKinsey’s report noted.
In 2016, Microsoft partner Dynamiss Solutions to launch LP+365 learning solutions to boost digital learning in primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions in Nigeria. The LP+365 digital learning classroom solution is a cloud-based learning platform that transforms Microsoft Office365 into a school’s virtual learning environment, enabling teachers to design and plan the curriculum, deliver subject material, manage coursework, and communicate with students using simple drag-and-drop technology. This learning platform has since made learning easier as it provides 24-hour access to learning for both teachers and students.
Another such case would be the launch of the Nigeria Digital Learning Passport (NLP) by United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with the Lagos State government.
Nigeria Learning Passport is an online, mobile, and offline learning platform designed for pre-primary, primary, and secondary school learning. The platform was designed to give children, youth, and teachers access to a digitalized curriculum providing learning materials in all core curriculum subjects for primary one to six, and all junior and senior secondary school classes. In 2022, NLP provided continuous education to 3 million students and will serve an estimated 12 million by 2025.
Tech companies such as MTN Nigeria have developed initiatives to boost digital learning in Nigeria. By partnering with the government and educational institutions and leveraging the power of technology, the company has enabled easy access to educational content by activating digital learning platforms and educational play zones.
Since 2018, when it introduced MTN mPulse, young scholars have enjoyed unlimited opportunities for learning at an individual’s pace, which may not necessarily be available in the four-wall classroom environment. An interactive online portal from MTN, mPulse equips students between 9 and 15 with the resources they need to maximise their potential in any chosen endeavour. The service has two features namely the mPulse tariff and the mPulse website.
The mPulse package comes with a voice plan and a fun, educative website which hosts a wide variety of courses and study aids to help children from Primary to Secondary level excel. The portal also provides a bouquet of single and multiplayer games, as well as life skills videos. A wide variety of skills to learn on the platform include computer programming, fashion designing, medicine, blogging, engineering, writing, data science, and motivational speaking. The portal has built-in parental controls that enable a registered parent or guardian to track and control what the child is accessing on the internet- thus allaying fears of negative media influence.
To commemorate the 2022 Children’s Day, MTN Nigeria also partnered Google to host over 200 children for a special Children’s Day celebration themed “Tech Makers: The Next Wave.” Geared toward inspiring young children to become tech entrepreneurs, the digital empowerment initiative was created to expose young children to a world of incredible opportunities. The celebration resonates with MTN’s culture of impacting children. For instance, some select secondary schools have benefited from MTN’s outreach programmes where students, as well as teachers, have received gifts from the ICT company, including ICT laboratories and upgraded libraries.
Undoubtedly, the increasing number of youth-centered projects by MTN proves the technology giant’s unwavering commitment to youth empowerment across all sectors of the economy to institute a future-proof economy.
A momentous season for primary and secondary school-age students came when MTN launched the mPulse Spelling Bee competition, Nigeria’s first digital spelling bee competition, in 2020. Aimed at improving the English spelling and vocabulary of the participants, aged between 9 and 15, the competition is a huge contribution to Nigeria’s knowledge economy through youth development. Accessible through the mPulse portal, participating students can practice with sample materials repeatedly at their convenience. In 2022, the technology company announced the return of the third edition of the spelling bee competition, with the top 20 spellers receiving gifts. The overall winner, along with the first and second runners-up were rewarded with cash prizes for themselves and their English teachers. In addition, the spelling bee champion’s school was rewarded with ICT devices, while the winner, Kate Ene, got the opportunity to become MTN Nigeria’s CEO for a day.
The case of Kate Ene David, who emerged as the winner of the 2022 MTN mPulse Spelling Bee competition, paints the closest picture of the upshot of youth empowerment in Nigeria. The 14-year-old student of Intimacy with Christ Secondary School, Mararaba, Nasarawa State, Nigeria, along with 19 other top students, had exercised their spelling prowess, and quick wits, and expanded their wealth of vocabulary knowledge at different phases of the competition. With their dedication to win and join the league of spelling bee champions, Nigeria’s future is a cut above the rest, as educational development at the grassroots level is rapidly moulding the younger generation for excellence.
Following her win, Kate was onboarded as the first female CEO of MTN Nigeria for a day. This accomplishment exposed the teenage spelling bee sensation to the practicalities of the business world at a tender age, further promoting youth participation in decision-making, processes, and structure, and thereby creating an easier roadmap for school-to-work transitioning. This notion is supported by the World Economic Forum in a 2020 article that identified investment in public education with proactive engagement by businesses as a mechanism to transform the skills landscape for the next generation and ease school-to-work transitions
Nigeria can only reach the UN sustainability goals by investing in youth. Skills development in youths will undoubtedly have a ripple effect on the economy. In a 2020 article published by the International Development Law Organization, UN Envoy, Ahmed Alhendawi described the youth as the greatest asset for the development agenda. To flip the coin would mean a nation in distress, and a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.
Empowering the Nigerian youth with resources to thrive in a digital economy has answered the overarching question of how innovation in education, science, and technology can be used to build on the momentum of Nigeria’s economic growth, and Africa at large. MTN Nigeria’s world of possibilities for youth development in education and tech innovation is, beyond doubt, contributing to the achievement of Africa’s transformation agenda (2020-2030) aimed at building an integrated and inclusive digital society and economy in Africa that improves the quality of life of Africa’s citizens, strengthen the existing economic sector, and enable diversification and development.
