Motivar, a Social Enterprise committed to democratizing access to digital education, has completed the first batch of its DigiAccess initiative, an online learning programme for Secondary School Students.
The pilot implemented at the Christ School, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, graduated 33 students and introduced them to a wide array of tools and resources to learn online effectively.
Motivar’s Founder, Mayowa Olajide Akinleye, who highlighted the transformative potential of digital education, enjoined the beneficiaries to leverage on the opportunities embedded in digital education.
Mayowa noted that the Training is a unique set of abilities that can empower the beneficiaries with the capacity to find knowledge online, advising them to take the lessons learnt to heart to impact their lives positively.
“The world is now global and talent is now global. It is possible today to live in Ilejemeje, Ikere, or Ado and earn global value for your skills. But the ability to leverage these opportunities is enabled by education and in this case, digital education, which is a unique set of abilities that empowers you with the capacity to find knowledge you need online and sit down to teach yourself
“Over five weeks, the successful students explored various fields including Artificial Intelligence (AI), Web Design, UI/UX design, Video Editing, Cybersecurity, Digital Marketing, and Data Analysis. For about 70% of the participants, this marked their first experience with online learning”, Mayowa explained.
The success of the DigiAccess pilot sparked discussions about scaling up the initiative as Mayowa pointed out that the success of the work leveraged on previous interventions of Nigeria Communications, Christ School Alumni, and the World Bank funded AGILE Project to provide digital infrastructure in the school.
“This underscores the impact of Organizations like ours, and a key lesson that it is not enough that infrastructure is provided, even if it is usually the hardest component, there must also be systems in place to maximally operate that infrastructure
“We must scale programs like DigiAccess statewide, funded by government and community-led support to operate this infrastructure and maximize outcomes for all our students
“This Training is not what will make them into Bill Gates, but it’s a seed that if nurtured, watered may become for them an oak that feeds them all their lives. And if not, we have in a small way increased their capacity to dream and I am proud of it”, he stressed.
The Permanent Secretary, Ekiti State Ministry of Education, Mike Omolayo, in his remarks, reaffirmed the commitment of the State Government to providing requisite infrastructure and scaling digital initiatives in the state.
Omolayo said some Young people today use digital access for nefarious purposes, but believes that the beneficiaries have learnt how to use access to Internet for learning to complement what they are taught in class, stressing that the opportunities are boundless.
The Principal, Christ Girls School, Ado Ekiti, Mrs. Apata Modupe, expressed her gratitude to the Organizers, saying: “We are thankful for this initiative. It’s not just about the skills; it’s about expanding our students’ horizons and showing them what’s possible in the digital world. We are excited to have played our part to deliver this for them”.
The Vice Principal, Admin of Christ School, Mr. Olatunde Akinyemi, noted that; “The support we provided every step of the way has been instrumental in making this program a success. We look forward to seeing how our students will apply these new learnings to impact their lives and the society as well”.
The student who benefited from the initiative expressed gratitude to the initiators for teaching generative AI, Video Editing – making use of Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, how to create green screen effects, how to use HTML, CSS, and how to use JavaScript to create a website, among others.
Christ School is the first of five secondary schools Motivar intends to reach before the end of the year.
The DigiAccess program is executed with support from Innovate UK.