The National Information Development Agency (NITDA) has urged the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NLEFUND) to consider short courses on digital skills for students.
Director-General of NITDA, Mr Kashifu Inuwa, made the call on Monday when a team from NELFUND, led by its Executive Secretary, Mr Akintunde Sawyer, paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja.
NELFUND is the administrator of the student loan initiative programme and its visit is to learn, collaborate, and present a demo of its portal to NITDA for input.
Inuwa said digital skills would position students to be conversant with trends of the digital society, which was shifting from paper qualifications to skills acquisition.
According to him, digital skills will empower citizens with high-in-demand global skills and position Nigeria as a hotspot for brain export.
The director-general observed that no institution could succeed in isolation, saying that the higher institutions, corporate organisations, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and the government must work collaboratively to build the ecosystem.
“Higher institutions of learning produce the human capital. So, they need to be worked with closely because they need to understand the skills in demand.
“Corporate organisations absorb the human capital by employing them or buying products from entrepreneurs.
“Entrepreneurs can be students, dropouts, or anybody who has an idea that meets a need.
“Any gap between the institution and corporate organisations will make it difficult to place graduates on jobs.
“This is because most of our graduates cannot fit into the private sector unless by undergoing these short courses,’’ director-general said.
He said that venture capitalists should be encouraged to invest, as Nigeria’s technology ecosystem attracts more than 30 per cent of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
According to him, 70 per cent of that investment comes from the United States while we have Nigerians who have money and can invest.
He added that the agency would set up the seed funding for startups that could encourage indigenous venture capitalists.
He recalled that the agency was working with the Federal Ministry of Education to review the curriculum of tertiary institutions to meet the demands of the ecosystem.
The NITDA boss commended the work put into the development of the NELFUND portal, suggesting that it should be made mobile friendly for easy accessibility.
Inuwa assured NELFUND of the agency’s commitment by giving it the necessary support to achieve its mandate.
Earlier, Sawyer said the initiative was intended to connect many Nigerians to the fund to obtain tertiary education and refund payment after their one-year mandatory National Youth Service Corps programme.
He said, “Our mission is to strive to revolutionise higher education accessibility in Nigeria by providing interest-free loans to eligible students.
“We want to help as many people as possible get to the next level as it will benefit individuals, institutions, and the nation at large.” (NAN)
By Ijeoma Olorunfemi
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