95% of Kano public girls’ schools have no access to internet- Survey

A survey conducted by the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has indicated that 95 per cent of public girls’ secondary schools in Kano state have no access to internet. The Executive Director of the centre, Mr Yunusa Zakari Ya’u made the disclosure recently when he led members of the centre on a courtesy […]

A survey conducted by the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has indicated that 95 per cent of public girls’ secondary schools in Kano state have no access to internet.

The Executive Director of the centre, Mr Yunusa Zakari Ya’u made the disclosure recently when he led members of the centre on a courtesy visit to Kano Zonal Controller of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Malam Adamu Amshi.

Ya’u explained that even among the few schools that had access to the internet, some were facing various constraints inhibiting its full utilization by students.

“We conducted a research on access to the internet in the public girls’ secondary schools in Kano state. The study found that out of 214 schools only 5% have access to the internet and even at that low percentage, there were many constraints; there are schools with computers but have no ICT teachers or you get the teachers in some schools without the ICT facilities.

“In some cases, you will have facilities but no electricity supply to the school and no generator to service the computers. Some other schools have the internet but they don’t have money to pay for data subscription,” he said.

The executive director appealed to the state government to equip the girls’ schools with internet facilities, emphasizing that access to the internet “has become an issue of human right.

“Today internet is considered as a right to every citizen of the country. If you say education is a right, then having the means to acquire it should also be a right. Today no one can be properly educated without access to the internet. If access to information is a right, then access to the internet must also be a right,” Ya’u stated.

He related the recent failure in JAMB examination among secondary school students in the state to lack of basic knowledge of computer and urged government to invest in the future of its people by providing them with qualitative education.

Meanwhile, Kano zonal office of the NCC has donated two sets of computer devices and a projector to the CITAD in support of its ICT quiz competition organised annually among secondary school students in the state.

The annual competition was meant to deepen the knowledge of computer among students of secondary schools.

NCC, in support of this year’s quiz competition, donated a HP laptop computer and a projector as rewards for the prospective first prize winner, while a desktop computer for runner-up.

Presenting the gadgets to Mr. Ya’u, the NCC zonal controller identified digital gap between north and south as responsible factor inhibiting development in northern states.

Malam Amshi maintained that ICT was an integral part of modern society and therefore encouraged students to embrace the opportunities inherent in the technology to better their lives.