CITAD CONDUCTS THIRD ICT QUIZ FOR BAUCHI STATE SECONDARY SCHOOLS

CITAD CONDUCTS THIRD ICT QUIZ FOR BAUCHI STATE SECONDARY SCHOOLS

 

By Ibrahim Mohammed Aboki, CITAD Bauchi


In its effort to promote ICT knowledge among the secondary school students, the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has, for the third time, conducted the ICT quiz competition for Bauchi State Secondary Schools on Saturday 8th December, 2012 atGovernmentGirlsCollege, Azare. The quiz witnessed the participation of 15 secondary schools from different parts of Bauchi State and presence of Honourable Baba Abubakar Suleiman, member representing Azare/ Madangala, Bauchi state house of Assembly- who served as the Guest Speaker and as well as chairman of the Quiz. Also in attendance were Honourable Commissioner Bauchi State Ministry of Education ably represented by the Katagum Zonal Education Director, Mallam Maikudi, Chairman Bauchi State Special Schools Management Board represented by Alhaji Inuwa Dattijo, the Chairman Bauchi State Universal Basic Education Board represented by the Director Schools Services (SUBEB), Malam Umaru Musa Chinade,and the  Honourable Commisioner Bauchi State Ministry for Science and Technology represented by Alh. Sule Adamu Madara among others.

Members of the High Table

Mal. Ahmad Yakasai addressing the audience

Cross section of participants

Participant receiving prizes

In his welcome remarks, Mallam Ahmad A. Yakassai  CITAD Training Coordinator and Chairman Quiz Committee who also served as  the Chief  Judge of the  quiz, described the competition as an effort to ginger people to do help in provding ICT facilities in our schools. According to him, ‘CITAD, as part of its effort towards the ICTs development in our society, chooses to conduct ICT quiz competition for the  leaders of tomorrow.’ He lamented on how our society was left behind in terms of IT, despite the fact that IT was becoming a global concern.

Hon. Baba Abubakar Suleiman during his speech as the Guest Speaker asserted that ICT is now unanimously agreed to be ‘universal language- what people irrespective of their age, colour, sex, tribe, religion, ethnicity, should learn’. He added, ‘IT dominates all our day to day activities and it is synonymous to education, power and economy. There was industrial revolution in the 18th and 19th centauries but the 20th century is of the Information revolution he added. He encouraged students to, not only learn IT but also study it in their future career especially in this age where we are annually graduating millions of students from our Universities and Polytechnics without places for them in the labour market, IT graduate can easily be self employed.

The competition witnessed more schools than the previous years. The participating schools were: Demonstration Secondary School, Azare, Government Girls College, Azare, Government Comprehensive Day Secondary School, Bauchi, Government Comprehensive Day Secondary School, Azare, Government Day Secondary School, Ningi, Government Day Secondary School, Azare, Government Day Secondary School, Kafin Madaki, Islamic Orientation Secondary School, Azare, General Hassan Usman Katsina Unity College, Bauchi, Al Amin Academy, Azare, Government Arabic College Jama’are, Government Technical College, Gamawa, Government Day Secondary School, Matsango, Azare, Inuwa Dahiru Memorial Secondary School,Azare,

The schools were grouped in to two, group A and B; and three rounds were  held at the end of which three schools from each group emerged as finalists. determining final round was held among the group winners to determine the eventual winners At the end of of the keenly contested competitionIslamic Orientation Secondary School, Azare prevailed to take the first position, Al Amin Academy, Azare took the second position while Government Secondary School, Ningi came third position.

There were ten prizes lined up for the winning schools, contestants and their teachers. The prizes as well as the winners were as follow: First position, new brand Samsung Laptop Computer which was donated by Honourable Member representing Katagum Federal Constituency, Alhaji Auwalu Dahiru Saleh, and won by Islamic Orientation Secondary School Azare and was presented to the school by CPC Katagum Local Government Chairman on behalf of Hon. Auwalu Dahiru Saleh, Member Katagum Federal Constituency. A new brand 17-inch Television donated by Engineer Usman Jibrin MD ATD Resource Limited was presented as a second prize to Al’Amin Academy Azare by Honourable Baba Abubakar Suleiman, member representing Azare/ Madangala, at  Bauchi State House of Assembly. The third price, which was a printer donated by Adamu Abubakar of the Office of the Auditor General was presented to Government Day Secondary School, Ningi by Honourable Commissioner Bauchi state Ministry of Education ably represented by the Katagum Zonal Education Director, Mallam Maikudi.

Another set of prizes were 5 yard ‘Shadda’ presented to each participant of the winning schools, the teacher of first winning school received a new brand 17-inch Television set and presented to him by the representative of the Chairman Special Schools Management Board, while the teachers of second and third winning schools received a prizes of wall- clock each by Alhaji Inuwa Dattijo. Alhaji Umaru Musa Chinade, Director School Services Bauchi State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) presented certificates of participation to teachers of participating schools and to some students.

Commenting on the quiz competition a student of Government Day Secondary School Azare, Muhammad Muhammad, requested the Bauchi State Ministry of Education to also be organizing quiz competition of this kind and provide the schools with appropriate facilities and personnel; ‘so that the students of Bauchi state will not only learn IT but also be developing our own version of technologies.’ Also speaking, Mallam Abdullahi Sani from General Hassan Usman Katsina Unity College Bauchi had this to say, ‘having heard a non governmental organization- which we didn’t come to know intended to organize quiz competition; we didn’t expect the quiz would be the way it was. More grease to your elbows CITAD.’ He therefore urged Bauchi State Government to be partnering with CITAD in such events and suggested that even the losing schools should be given prizes no matter how little it would be.

Responding to comments made, the Bauchi State Commissioner of Education who was represented by the Zonal Education Director, Katagum Zonal Education Office Mallam Maikudi said, ‘the Ministry has already started providing IT facilities to some of the schools in the state, and others will have it later. Although there are some shortcomings that are beyond our reach but the ministry is doing all its possible best- an example here was that the first and second winning schools are all private schools, it’s only the third that is public school’. He described IT as what was needed to collectively be sustained and properly be used to benefit all. He further describedg the quiz as just a beginner and advised the students to always read their books and several others, attend lessons, do assignments and other extra curricular activities.

In his closing remarks, chairman of the occasion and guest speaker, Hon. Baba Abubakar Suleiman, thanked all the people for being present despite their tight schedules. He thereafter promised as part of his contribution toward promoting computer knowledge, to sponsor all the participating students and two teachers from each participating school, making the total of 60 people, to study Diploma in Information Technology (DIT).