The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has said it is investing in digital learning because it holds the key to unlocking untapped potential and shaping the future of the oil-rich region.
The NDDC Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, gave the clarification while speaking with journalists at the NDDC’s headquarters in Port Harcourt.
He said the Commission was determined to harness the power of technology to build a brighter future for the Niger Delta, where every child would have the tools and opportunities to succeed.
Ogbuku remarked that the NDDC, in collaboration with the Renewed Hope Initiative of Nigeria’s First Lady, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, launched a large-scale digital education initiative aimed at distributing 45,000 U-Lesson tablets to primary and secondary schools across the nine states in the region.
The NDDC chief executive stressed that the initiative seeks to enhance educational opportunities in the Niger Delta region through the distribution of U-Lesson tablets and software designed to improve student literacy and learning outcomes.
“The initiative fosters a conducive learning environment by integrating digital learning resources. It aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 4, which emphasises the importance of inclusive and equitable quality education. This approach aims to empower students, ensuring they have the tools to excel academically and compete globally.
“It is all about being pragmatic and positioning our region for the future. Digital education came to the forefront during the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, COVID-19.
“The pandemic taught us that interpersonal learning will be a thing of the past very soon. During the COVID-19 period, churches were functioning through online platforms.
“We want the children growing up to be able to use computers and other digital devices for learning. We realise that some of our students sent outside the country for postgraduate studies struggle with the highly computerised modern society. That is why we are investing more in educating our students on digital learning.”
“Education is improving, and even our phones are always on software upgrades. Education is also being improved to meet the present reality of our society so that students can compete with others when they leave our country,” Ogbuku said.
While saying that the U-Lesson software was tailored to the Nigerian educational framework, Ogbuku noted that it featured an offline video library, allowing students to access educational content without internet connectivity.
His words: “This digital tool complements traditional face-to-face instruction, empowering students to master their materials and excel in tests and examinations.
“We believe that every student in our region deserves a quality education, and we are committed to providing the resources necessary to make this a reality.”
Speaking on the NDDC Foreign Postgraduate Scholarship Programme, Ogbuku observed that 2,700 students from the Niger Delta had benefited from the scheme since its inception in 2010.
According to him, “We reactivated and strengthened our foreign postgraduate scholarship scheme, making it more merit-based and funding it adequately to prevent the challenges of the past.”
“We have made educational development and human capacity building our key policy thrust.”
Ogbuku averred that the previous negative narrative of the NDDC is changing “due to the conscious and sustained efforts to chart a new course of development for the region.”
