Invest in technology in schools– JA Africa CEO urges FG

Mrs. Simi Nwogugu,the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Junior Achievement Africa, in Lagos, appealed to the Federal Government to invest in technology for secondary school students in schools.

The CEO made the appeal on Friday while addressing journalists at the grand finale of the Company of the Year Award at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos.

She said one of the challenges being faced in the world by African school students was the lack of experience in technology.

"One of the challenges students encounter is the adoption of technology. When we go to global competitions, we see students bring out robots and other creative things.

"But in Nigeria and all over Africa, technology adoption is a challenge because most of these kids don't have access to devices and the internet.

"We are imploring and appealing to the government to invest in technology so that these kids can compete with the rest of their peers around the world," she said.

While speaking about the award ceremony, she expressed satisfaction with the way everything went, adding that it had been challenging.

"It has been a challenging few years because of the pandemic." This is the first physical competition we have had in three years.

"The students really impressed us; they completely blew us out with their innovation in problem solving."

"We gave them a challenge that they should attempt to be changemakers by solving most of the global challenges facing us across the world, not just in Africa, and they really delivered.

"They solved the challenges; it was very tough for the judges to choose the winners, but at least everybody went home with a prize," she said.

She added the Junior Achievement Africa had been in Nigeria for 23 years, saying they did programmes in all 36 states of the federation.

"We do this competition in every state, and the winners from these states come to Lagos to compete to be the team that will represent Nigeria," she said.

She, however, solicited for more funding to enable the non profit organisation to continue to provide the programmes free to all schools.

Supreme reports that Mozambique emerged the winner of the Company of the Year Award with a cash prize of 1,000 dollars, while Nigeria and Eswatini were second and third, respectively.

Supreme reports that no fewer than nine secondary school students participated in the Company of the Year (COY) competition, organized by Junior Achievement (JA) Africa, a non-governmental organization.

The nine students are from Eswatini, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Mozambique, which emerged as the winner, wouldrepresent the African region at the Ralph de la Vega Global Entrepreneurship Competition.