TITUS ELEWEKE reports in Daily Champion on the upsets made in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) by two pupils at Doregos Private Academy.
WHEN we read about young people making break-through and achievements in various fields such as medicine and Information and Communications Technology (ICT), most times we feel that such feat can only come from outside the shores of Nigeria.
However, this notion is fast changing gradually. When you talk about achievement in the field of Information Technology, the name Bill Gates is a household name considering the fact that he started at a very tender age of 13 and today owes the biggest computer corporation in the world, Microsoft.
Many Nigerians would like to know when a young Nigerian comes up with such an outstanding achievement considering the myriad of challenges facing the Nigerian child and the country’s level of involvement and development in ICT. For us, Nigerians, it would seem impossible at least for some years to come, but with the recent development, we do not need to wait for so long as the much awaited ICT revolution in Nigeria has began to take place from the Doregos Private Academy, Lagos.
On Friday 13th February, Davidson Oseremen and Alade Oluwaseun, aged between 12 and 13 respectively, emerged as the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) in the country.
The two students are in Senior Secondary one (SS1), Science students from Doregos Private Academy. In its bids to make in-road in ICT the school is one of the first to embrace ICT training for her students as introduced by New Horizons Systems Solutions Limited, the initiator and brain behind training of Information Technology courses in Nigerian schools; from primary to tertiary institutions.
The school, thus, started the ICT partnership programme with New Horizons Systems Solutions Limited in 2005, thereby making her one of the first schools in Nigeria to integrate ICT training into her academic curriculum from JSS 1.
It could be recalled that the proprietress of the school, Mrs. C.A. Doregos made a statement that “as a result of our ICT partnership with New Horizons Systems Solutions Limited, we stand a greater chance of retaining all the trophies and medals we have won in various ICT competitions in the past ...., our students also have a professional touch to computer training.”
The decision to embrace ICT by the school has endeared it to the hearts of many parents and guardians as records have shown that for some parents who came late to enroll their children in the school it was a case of being first come first serve as many were turned back because most of the classes were already filled to capacity.
This development is traceable to the disciplined, leadership and excellent management style of the management and staff of the school coupled with the partnership with New Horizons.
According to the proprietor of the school, Mrs. C.O. Doregos, since it started partnership with New Horizon, the school has won several awards both at the state and international levels. In 2008, the school won the best ICT students award in Lagos State.
She said Agu Agatha and Davidson Oseremen have assembled Personal Computer System at Sheraton Hotel and Towel in 2007. The school came first in the Young Science Technology Association competition held in Ibadan and later represented Nigeria in Brazil for the International Science EXPO where Nigeria won five medals and two trophies.
The school won three medals out of the five carted home by Nigeria and it came first in the National Secondary Schools Intellectual Capacity Building competition, and Nigerian Science Fair.
New Horizons, one of the world leading IT company and the first to fully integrate professional ICT certification courses into Nigerian universities and schools academic curricula has expressed happiness to be associated with these achievements, particularly the success of Alade Oluwaseun and Davidson Oseremen, for being the youngest MCPs’ in Nigeria.
New Horizon company implements world class-standard ICT curriculum using certified IT instructors with original courseware certified by IT vendors for training both primary and secondary students.
This achievement is in fulfillment of the vision of Bill Gates who desired that Information Technology be taught to young people across the world at a very early stage in life would bring about the sharpening of young Nigerians’ minds in IT related issues.
According to the principal of the academy, Mr. J.O. Adebayo ‘New Horizons no doubt packages World class ICT curriculum for our students and we are enjoying it’.
Also, the proprietress stated that she is happy and excited that her school has produced the youngest Microsoft Certified Professionals (MCPs) in the country.
She said her students are doing well in ICT and other areas of education, because New Horizons has been a blessing to the school in terms of developing the ICT skills of the students
She advised school owners and administrators to allow professionals to handle their ICT training rather than allowing all comers to continue to teach their students, adding that this will have a great effect in developing technology in Nigeria by providing the right skills, knowledge and tools for the students.
She recommended New Horizons ICT Partnership programme to all schools, so that they can breed world class students that would be innovative in technology to change face Nigeria.
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