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The Plateau Information and Communication Technology Development Agency (PICTDA) has kicked off activities in 2020 with its Rural Technology Outreach. The Digital Education initiative is designed to create awareness and offer basic instructions to mass of the people at the grassroots on digital skills and benefits.
The programme started this week with schools teachers in several rural communities under the ‘Train the Trainer’ scheme in which primary and secondary school teachers will benefit from the first point of digital instructions; and then be able to pass these on to their pupils and other strategic beneficiaries in the chain of learning.
“This is really going to change the way we think and the way we convey knowledge to students in no distant future. The government of Plateau State is poised towards positioning itself in this age of digitisation by leaving no stone unturned,” said Director General of PICTDA, Daser David.
The initial phase of the programme targets to cover thousands of beneficiaries across sectors with aim of upgrading skills and expanding digital opportunities to improve areas as diverse as farming, healthcare, and education among others, said David. “Starting with schools teachers, we have commenced the train the trainer program of teachers in the rural communities.”
“The Train the Trainer program is targeted at teachers in the rural communities with the hope that the knowledge can be transferred to students in their diverse schools where they teach. Our goal is to equip Citizens of Plateau State with the right Digital Skills to position us for opportunities of the future,” said David.
The Plateau State Commissioner for Science & Technology, Gyang Dung Musa while commending the initiative reiterated “Governor Simon Bako Lalong’s commitment to taking Plateau State to the next level with programmes and initiatives that would create lasting impacts in the lives of Plateau citizens.”
PICTDA is created by an Act and part of its objectives include to regulate ICT activities in Plateau State in-line with existing laws; develop appropriate skills and resources to support the ICT infrastructure; develop policies, standards, guidelines, and frameworks to guide the development of ICT and ICT operations in Plateau State in accordance with industry best practices.
Other objectives are to build a robust ICT infrastructure and solutions that will deliver the appropriate level of data availability, confidentiality, and integrity; incorporate effective best practices and policies in the management of ICT operations, and maximize value for money from existing and future technology investments among others.
