Six hundred and twenty schools in Lagos, Kano and other states of the federation will have access to the Internet and devices designed to support digital learning.
This would be done in three months, with 20 schools in Lagos and Kano states enjoying the initiative this month, courtesy of a partnership between Airtel Nigeria and UNICEF.
Airtel is making this possible for the 620 primary schools under the Reimagine Education Initiative, with 300,000 pupils expected to benefit from the scheme.
At a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony to mark the initiative over the weekend in Lagos, Airtel said it had completed the process of providing free access to the two digital platforms for targeted beneficiaries as it has committed $1.3 million. in complementary data for the two platforms and provision of data for students only in the year.
It was concluded that in the first year of the five-year partnership, Airtel would provide all the resources for digital learning to the 620 identified schools, including reliable broadband connectivity, tablets and free access to a world-class curriculum through from Nigeria Learning. Passport (NLP).
NLP, developed by the Federal Ministry of Education, UNICEF and Microsoft, is an e-learning platform with online and offline capabilities that enables continuous access to quality education. Airtel’s support will benefit students with uninterrupted access to quality learning materials.
The leading GSM provider also provides free access for any Airtel subscriber to the Youth Agency Market Place (YOMA), a UNICEF digital platform to train, improve and encourage youth engagement.
YOMA currently has 115,000 users in Nigeria. This number is expected to grow with the support of Airtel, especially for young people living in hard-to-reach areas without access to data or connectivity.
“Education, especially digital learning, forms an important part of the company’s sustainability agenda for Nigeria, and it will stop at nothing to close the huge digital divide that currently exists in most rural primary schools across the globe. country,” said the CEO of Airtel Nigeria. , Mr. Surendran Chemmenkotil, at the launch of the campaign.
Speaking further, he said: “With this program and partnership, we are delivering world-class education and digital inclusion for thousands of underprivileged children, and our goal is to connect, empower and transform as many children and youth as possible.
“Education is power, and connectivity provides the lever to become unstoppable. At Airtel, we are confident that this investment will not only transform lives, but create a wonderful future for millions of Nigerian children and youth.”
“This is an important milestone and one step closer to bridging the digital divide in Nigeria. Quality digital learning is the fastest route to enhance learning and equip children and youth with the 21st century skills needed to reach their potential and live their dreams.
“We are delighted that Airtel Nigeria shares UNICEF’s vision and will help drive the process to expand access to digital learning for children and youth in these schools,” said UNICEF Nigeria Country Representative Cristian Munduate.
The Re-imagine education project is a five-year partnership between Airtel and UNICEF to help accelerate the rollout of digital learning by connecting schools to the internet and ensuring free access to learning platforms in 13 countries. By providing equal access to quality digital learning, particularly for the most vulnerable children, the partnership will help ensure that all children reach their full potential.