Student Loan: NITDA makes case for inclusion of digital skill courses

The Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa has made a case for the inclusion of digital courses in the proposed student loan scheme by the Federal Government.

The NITDA DG made this known in Abuja while receiving a delegation from Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) the administrator of the student loan initiative led by the Executive Secretary Mr Akintunde Sawyer.

The NITDA DG noted that the inclusion of digital courses will empower citizens with high-in-demand global skills that will position Nigeria as a hotspot for brain export.

The purpose of the meeting was to learn, collaborate, and present a demo of the NELFUND Portal to NITDA for input.

He stated that because no one succeeds in isolation, it is important to take into cognisance., the role of the five critical stakeholders of the ecosystem and synergise with them.

He mentioned that these stakeholders include higher institutions of learning, corporate organisations, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and the government.

He said, “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, so if there is a gap between the institution and corporate organisation, it will be difficult to place graduates on jobs as most of our graduates cannot fit into the private sector unless undergoing these short courses.”

While acknowledging that NITDA is working with the Federal Ministry of Education to review the curriculum of tertiary institutions to meet, Inuwa said, “For Entrepreneurs, they could be students, dropouts, or anybody who has an idea that meets a need and that students should be trained with the mindset that they are acquiring certificates to create jobs and not just to seek white-collar jobs.”

He stated that venture capitalists should be encouraged to invest, as Nigeria’s technology ecosystem attracts more than 30 percent of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

He said, “70 percent of that investment comes from the United States while we have Nigerians who have money; that is why we are trying to set up seed funding for startups that will encourage indigenous venture capitalists.”

The NITDA boss also commended the work put into the development of the NELFUND portal as he said the portal should be made mobile friendly as there are many people that will access the portal through their mobile phones.

He further stated, “We can organise a user acceptance test to check vulnerability to ensure that it is okay. I also want to advise that you carry out  the Data Protection Compliance Test to ensure you are complying with the Nigeria Data Protection Regulations (NDPR.)”

Inuwa assured NELFUND of the Agency’s commitment to giving them all the necessary support as their interest aligns with NITDA’s Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP 2.0).

The Executive Secretary of NELFUND Mr Sawyer said, the initiative intends to connect as many Nigerians as possible to the fund in order to obtain tertiary education and pay back after their one year mandatory National Youth Service 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 the individual, institutions, and the nation at large.”

The ES said they have come to be challenged by NITDA in order to do better, collaborate, and learn from the Agency.