The Centre for Information Technology And Development, CITAD, has attributed the mass failure recorded in the 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, especially among female candidates in northern Nigeria, to lack of internet access.

In a research it conducted, which was presented at a 2-Day Stakeholders Meeting to Greater Access to Internet for Girls Secondary Schools in Kano State, CITAD pointed out that lack of and internet access was the reason why the girls failed Computer Based Test, since it was by JAMB, 3 years ago.

Maryam Haruna, a Programme Manager at CITAD, who presented the research on Sunday, revealed that 90% of girls secondary schools in Kano lack computer laboratories, let alone, internet access.

She added that in spite of the fact that computer studies is compulsory for all students of secondary schools, according to the national education curriculum, many girls students were only coming into contact with the computer at the examination halls.

Mrs Haruna said, “In May 2017, the Joint Matriculation Examinations Board (JAMB), Nigeria’s tertiary admission examination agency, conducted for the fifth time Computer Based Test (CBT) for admission to tertiary institutions.

“A national outcry followed the release of the examination which saw massive failure, especially among female candidates in the north.

“One of the reasons implicated in the mass failure was the lack of access to computers and internet facilities in the schools in spite of the fact that computer studies is compulsory for all students of secondary schools according to the national education curriculum.

“Instead, many students were only coming into contact with the computer at the examination halls.

“The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) conducted a research to establish the extent of access to internet and computing facilities in girls’ public secondary schools in Kano State, the most populous state in the country with a population of 9,401,288 in the 2006 census and currently now having about 16 million people.

“Like many states in the north, Kano State runs separate schools for males and females at senior secondary school level, thus allowing the possibility of differential access to internet and other facilities in the schools along gender lines.”

On her part, a lecturer with the department of Computer Studies, Bayero University Kano, Sana Muazu, called on schoolgirls in Kano to embrace Information Technology to enhance their academic activities.

According to her, the alarming rate of girls not opportune to have internet access in girls secondary schools called for great action on the part of stakeholders.

She noted that the stakeholders were responsible for providing internet facilities for the girls to have an impeded access, especially now that the digital revolution had taken over.

She however called on the schoolgirls to embrace internet with sole aim of enhancing their academic career, not an avenue to engage on nasty stuff capable of ruining their future.

The Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) on Thursday demands security agencies to arrest and investigate Kano state Commissioner for Special Duties Abdulahi Abbas for reuesting his supporters to stone former governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso who is the Senator representing Kano Central at the Senate.

Abdullahi Abbas had appeared in a viral video clip that emerged on Wednesday asking his supporters to stone Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso during his scheduled visit to Kano by the end of this month.

CITAD said Abdulahi Abbas comments are capable of disrupting the peace enjoyed by the people of the state given his social and political standing in the society

At a news conference on Thursday, CITAD Senior Program Officer Isa Garba warned that the intra party rivalry  between the Gandujiyya and the Kwankwasiyya camps which all belong to the All Progressives Congress ( APC) is posing serious threats to Kano state.

“The most recent dangerous development in this crisis is the incessant blowing of conflict trumpet by the two groups, especially with respect to the scheduled visit of the former   governor , Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and the reaction of the Gandujiyya group on the matter.”

“ This becomes clear when a high profile official of the Gandujiyya group who is also a commissioner was quoted in a video clip calling on their supporters to stone what he referred to as “ the political Satan of Kano”

The Civil Society Group said the state Commissioner for Special Duties Abdullahi Abbas indirectly in the video clip confessed to organizing the crisis in Minjibir and the clash at Hawan Daushe which resulted to the maiming of many people.

CITAD recommended that security agents should invite Abdullahi Abbas for investigation on the statement and his planned   actions on the visit of Senator Kwankwaso to the state.

The security agents should also use the statement in furthering their investigation on the Hawan Daushe crisis as well as urging the security agents to always handle issues objectively

By Ahmed Jada

The Senior Programme Officer of Centre for Information Technology and Development, (CITAD), Isah Garba has has calls for active participation of Civil Society Organizations (CSO’s) and Media practitioners in tackling hate speech in Nigeria.

Garba made the call weekend in Bauchi during a one day workshop organized by Bauchi State Coalition for Improvement of Public Expenditure Management (BACIPEM) with support from CITAD for CSO’s and Media on how to use technology tools to counter hate speech and Peace building

in Nigeria.

According to him, CITAD has been sensitizing people across the country both online and offline on the danger and the need to counter hate speech.

He stressed the need for involvement of CSO’s, Media and other stakeholders in tackling hate speech particularly on social media as 2019 general elections approaches in order to ensure peaceful polls.

Garba advised Nigerians especially politicians to avoid hate speech campaign noting “no nation can enjoy peace and development with the use of hate speech because hate speech causes violence in the society hence the need to avoid and campaign against hate speech.

He explained that CITAD has conducted training on hate speech in different states which includes Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Abuja, Akwa Ibom, Imo, Jigawa among others.

Also speaking, Mohammed Chiroma from BACIPEM said the training was a step down training following the intensive training organized by PeaceTech Lab in collaboration with Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) on how use technology tools to better counter hate speech online.

Chiroma said the participants were trained on how to use Google Image Verification Tool, Google Forms and Facebook for Hate speech countering.

He pointed out that hate speeches said on social media have the great potentials to ignite violence considering the large audience it can reach within short period of time.

One of the participants at the training, Adama Ibrahim of Women Fellowship of Nigeria admitted that this is her first time to be sensitized on hate speech saying she only hears about it on TV or Radio.

She thereby commended BACIPEM and CITAD for organizing such training which according to her will go along way in ensuring peace in the society.

The training has in attendance 20 participants drawn from CSOs and Media organizations in the state.

Participants at a one- day forum organized by the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), Owerri have advocated a legal framework and enabling laws to handle the growing and disturbing issues of hate and dangerous speeches in the country.

Media practitioners were also urged not to give prominence on the pages of the newspapers and time on the electronic outfits to promoters of hate and dangerous speeches.

In a 15-point statement issued by the group, they expressed concern about the devastating effects of hate speeches in the country, regretting that the root cause of it emanated from alleged marginalization and lopsidedness in appointments and resource allocations.

They decried federal and state governments indifference in addressing the issues raised by agitators.

In their presentations, a Senior Programmes Officer (Curbing Hate -Speech Project of the CITAD, Isah Garba and the Research and Media Assistant of the group, Hamza Ibrahim, said the monitoring and evaluation of survey conducted in 2016, using contents on the pages of the newspapers revealed that 6,258 hate speeches were recorded.

The duo said hate-speeches were identified to be speeches made in both pictorial forms or words against a group and not just an individual.

Garba said breakdown of the figures showed that religious related issues recorded the highest with 2,603, representing 46 per cent.

The second are hate-speeches against ethnicity, which occured 2,449 times, representing 33 per cent.

Continuing, he said politics had 421; Biafra issues, 283; resource control, 338 and terror with related issues, more than 32 times.

On the mode of communication, they said English had 98 per cent, while pidgin had 0.4 per cent. They regretted that most hate-speakers were identified as educated personalities, having 22 per cent and 62 per cent of inflammatory and coded moderately inflammatory patterns respectively.

In hate-speeches conveyed through Facebook, Ibrahim said 59 per cent was recorded mostly use of false pictorial representations.

By Bashir Mohammed

Kano.

Senior Programme Officer, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), Malam Isiyaku Garba Yakasai, has described consistent budget tracking by citizens as a veritable key to ensuring transparency and accountability in ideal democratic setting.
Speaking at a one day stakeholders’ forum on budget tracking, organised by CITAD in Kano yesterday, Yakasai said the essence of electing leaders to positions of authority was for them to live above board by fulfilling their campaign promises to the electorate, adding that the organisation had come up with the programme to remind leaders of their responsibility to the people.
According to him, open budget was all about enhancing transparency and accountability and fostering the people’s participation in governance by demystifying government budgets, positing that people across the country were keen to understand and participate meaningfully in discussions on budgets and governance.
He stated that citizens in many countries are keen in pressurising their governments for accountability, pointing out that whatever elected leaders promised when the last votes were cast and counted, the critical question was how governments actually manage their funds to address the challenges of poverty, provide essential services such as education and healthcare as well as make public investments to secure their future.
He further revealed that 20 years ago, hardly any organisation focused on budget transparency as key to improving democratic accountability and improving outcomes for the poor, adding that over 200 groups in at least 119 countries engaged in such work, according to the international budget partnership, a global research and advocacy organization that collaborates with budget groups around the world.

Preamble.
The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) held a two-day Stakeholders Meeting on Promoting Greater Access to Internet in Public Girls Secondary Schools in Kano State. The meeting, held on and 19th December, 2019 at Mambayya was attended by over 50 people representing education authorities, parents, Teachers, students, civil society organizations and journalists. The meeting which was part of a larger engagement supported by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) was meant to deliberate on the findings of the Survey on Access to Internet in Public Girls Secondary in Kano State conducted by CITAD and to propose solutions to address problems identified from the survey. The survey itself was motivated by the massive failure of students, especially females in the 2017 computer-based Unified Matriculation Examination (UME) of Joint Matriculation Examinations Board (JAMB). Many students it was reported were using the computer for the first time in the life during the examination and consequently did not know how to interact with the systems to write the examination. The objective of the survey was to assess the actual state of things in public secondary schools and develop an appropriate advocacy plan to support the campaign for the promotion of greater access to internet for females students of secondary schools in the state.
The keynote address on ICT, Girls and Education” was delivered by Malama Sanah Mu’az (Faculty of Computer Science, BUK) while another supporting presentation on Sources of Support for Schools” was made by Isyaku Garba. Also students and teachers gave testimony at the occasion. The survey report was presented and discussed in four sessions.
Observations
The meeting noted from the survey report the following:
• Result showed that 84.6% of the students do not know how to use internet
• Ten 10.8% of the students said they learnt to use the internet from their homes, and do not have access to internet in their schools
• Only 24.9% respondents said they have computer laboratory in their schools
• Only 4.7% respondents said they have internet in their schools
• Only 50 out of a total 204 schools have computer laboratory
• Only about 9% said are allowed by their parents to use the internet while the rest discouraged from using the internet for various reasons (23.3%, Moral concerns 26.0%, Exposure to boys and men 11.1% and Waste of time 8.5%).
• Only 3.35 said they had received advise from colleagues against using the internet show that peer influence is low
• Only one of 0.12% of the respondents said they could afford to subscribe internet access and a computer
• The schools that have computers have insignificant numbers of the computers and often when they breakdown, schools have no provision to repair them
• None of the schools have sustainable internet connectivity
• Schools have no resources to provide fuel for the generators to use in the absence of grid electricity supply
• In some schools, they have Computer teachers who teach Computer Science theoretically, but they have no computer labs
• Some schools have the computer labs, but lack computer teachers
Participants further identified the following as key factors constrain the effective use of the internet by female students:
• Lack of awareness on the importance of ICT both from the parent side and from the students’ side
• There is ignorance and misconception among parents, especially in rural areas which create negative attitude to the internet in the students
• Prevalence of gender based violence from the internet
• Lack of computers & insufficient qualified teachers
• Poverty among parents that many girls cannot afford paying for access to internet because many of them have no jobs and no means of livelihood
• Few number of female teachers in the ICT to provide encore and role model for the students
• The non-implementation of the current national secondary school curriculum in full which makes computer studies compulsory
• That although the state is one of few states to have in the mid 2000 to have developed a state-level ICT policy with a section developed on ICTs in Education, this policy which has lasted more than 10 years is not being implemented
Recommendations
Participants recommend that:
1. Governments at all levels should as a matter of urgency equip female schools with ICT facilities and internet access as well recruit sufficient number of qualified ICT teachers
2. Schools should be supported by their proprietors and other stakeholders to have resources to repair, maintain and upgrade their systems as well as pay for internet connectivity
3. Principals and other school administrators should be creative in the efficient and effective use of the available ICT facilities in their schools to ensure that all students have access to and use these facilities
4. Proprietors of schools must meet their obligation of providing adequate ICT facilities given that computer studies is now compulsory and the fact that the Universal Matriculation Examination is computer-based
5. Stakeholders should sustained high level of advocacy to government, philanthropists, donor agencies and other stakeholders to support yhe provision of ICTs facilities to girl’s secondary schools.
6. There should be massive sensitization to parents, traditional and religious leaders and CBOs etc, to encourage positive use of Internet among female students.
7. The school managements should, out of their PTA/School fees and other sources of incomes, try to pay Internet services and provide ICT facilities.
8. State government should encourage female indigenes of the state to study computer related courses at tertiary level so as to provide the state with both sufficient number of female ICT teachers and role models for the students to emulate
9. As part of Community Social Responsibility (CSR), Internet Service Providers (ISP) should play their roles by subsidizing Internet access to public secondary schools.
10. Parents and teachers should educate and monitor the usage of the internet by the students and make them more aware on how to protect themselves from cyber bullying.
11. Government should employ qualified ICT teachers, train them and make them up-to-date on how to use and teach ICT in schools.
12. The Kano State government should review its ICT Policy with a view to update and implement it, especially as its affects the education sector given the demand for ICT knowledge and skills in the educational pursuit
13. ICT subjects should be made compulsory in reality as provided in the current curriculum like Mathematics and English Language.
14. Parent-Teachers Associations (PTA), School Based Management Committees (SBMC) and other educational authorities/stakeholders should develop a zeal to ensure that schools have adequate ICT facilities and teachers.
15. Government, especially at the federal level should articulate and implement an digital inclusion agenda that will seek to bridge the gender digital divide, among others aspects of the digital divide
Communiqué Team
1. Dr. Adamu Turaki (Chairman)
2. Malam Zakariyya Abdullahi Balarabe, KSSSMB (Member)
3. Alhaji Wakili Shehu Abubakar, State PTA Chairman (Member)
4. Maryam Ado Haruna, CITAD (Secretary)