THE THRILLS AND FUNS OF THE 8TH ICT QUIZ for secondary SCHOOL Students
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After the preliminary round at the 3rd Jigawa ICT which held on 3rd February 3rd, 2010, the 8th Annual ICT for secondary schools students by the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) held on 19th and 20th February, 2010. The occasion which held at the Auditorium of School of Technology, Kano State Polytechnic, Kano brought students from 28 schools to showcase their knowledge and skill on ICTs. The states were Bauchi, Jigawa, Kano and Katsina. The objectives of the Quiz were to sensitize the school communities to the need for computers, encourage students to take computer studies seriously and aid advocacy on the need for school proprietors and governments to provide computers to schools.

The opening session was chaired by Prof. A. M. Jega, the Vice Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano who in his opening remarks reminded the students of the importance of ICT in their future career. The Guest speaker for the opening round, Dr. Kole Ahmed Shettima of MacArthur Foundation spoke on the topic Role of ICT in Career Development and Advancement. He discussed the various uses of ICTs in the education sector, and how students could take the opportunities ICTs offer to advance their learning and career. As a political scientist, and director of a development foundation, Dr. Shettima also took time to discuss the uses of ICTs in advancing human rights and in promoting good governance.

What Dr. Shittima said was further amplified by one of the Guests, Alhaji Muhammad Idris, the Executive Secretary of the Kano State Senior Secondary Schools Management Board who recalled his experience way back in the early 1980s when he was a graduate student in the USA in a university which had by the time introduced a regulation that required all prospective graduate students be computer literate for its graduate programmes. While our universities are yet to add such requirement, already the National Information Technology Policy of the country has provided that any person desiring a job in the federal civil service must be computer literate. It is not clear if this is being complied with, but it is obvious that it has become obvious that no one needs to be told that in the emerging information society, computer skills are simple indispensable.

Among the other guests at the occasion were Hon. Abdullahi Dawaki, the Chairman Committee, on Education, Kano State House of Assembly, the Director General of the Social Reorientation Directorate, representatives of Intersystem Computers Limited, and Mr. Rotimi, the Business Manager, HIIT PLC, Kano.

After the addresses, the first round of the competition featured six schools, at the end of which the three best schools qualified for the semifinal round. A second round of another schools also featured with three more schools advancing to the next round.

The afternoon session saw the Vice Chancellor of the Kano State University of Science and Technology as the Chairman of the session. Unlike in the morning session there was no lecture but a presentation of the Hausa film, Naura, produced by CITAD to raise awareness about ICTs. Acted by young people and children, the students found the film speaking directly to them. During this second, 16 schools competed in two groups and eight schools, four from each of the two groups joined the six that qualified in the morning for the next round of the competition

The final day of the quiz started with a guest lecture by the President of the Computer Professional Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN), Mr. Ibrahim Tizhe who was represented by Mr. Kayode Shobajo, Managing Director, Hands-on Institute of Information Technology (HIIT), Lagos and Council Member of the CPN. He dwelled on the importance of ICTs to the economic development of the country, and especially on how the country can use ICTs in achieving the MDGs as well as propelling the national vision 202020 that hopes to see Nigeria among the top 20 economies of the world.

The session was chaired by Prof. Umar. G. Danbatta, Vice President of the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), a special telecommunication training institute set up by the Nigeria Communications Commissioner (NCC) to provide higher level manpower to telecommunication industry in the country. The Guest of Honour, Dr. Bashir S. Galadanci, the Kano State Commissioner for Science and Technology, spoke on state’ effort to use ICTs as a means to enhance the economic development of the State said that there were huge career opportunities in the ICT sector for our young people who opt for a career in the sector. he briefed the audience on the progress of the state government’s ICT flagship project, the Kano ICT Park which was about to be completed and opened for business.

For the competition, the fourteen schools that reached the semifinal, they were grouped into two, seven schools in each group. Each group competed amongst themselves. After the two rounds, the following schools advanced to the final. From group 1 we had xxxx, xxx and xx. Those that qualified from group 2 were xx. These schools next moved to the final round. By the end of the run the first and second winners emerged which were Government Science College, Dawaki Kudu and Government Technical College, Kano. For the third place position there was tie between Government Arabic College, Jama’are, Bauchi State and Computer Girls Secondary School, Roni, Jigawa State. Given the way in which all the schools performed, the Chief Judge of the Competition, Dr. Lukman Diso of the Department of Library and Information Science, Bayero University, Kano after consulting with the Chairman and the organizers announced that rather than go for the tie breaker, the two schools were taken as joint winners and that the third place prize was going to be duplicated. The duplication offer came from the Chairman of the session, Prof. U. G. Danbatta. This brought the contest to the end.

After the exciting competition it was time to present the prizes to the winners. Quiz chief judge Dr. Lukman Diso announced the names of the various winners. The prize distribution came first with the third place position whose prize-copier donated by Alhaji Isa Ahmed, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works, Kano State and Prof. U. G. Danbatta, Vice President, Digital Bridge Institute to Government Arabic College, Jama’are Bauchi State and Computer Girls Secondary School, Roni Jigawa State respectively. The prizes were presented to them by Alhaji Abdullahi Nashe of Mediwat Computer School and Alhaji Salisu Abdullahi, Senior Special Assistant to the Kano State Governor on ICT respectively. The second place prize which was a desktop computer donated by the Alhaji Gambo Ado, Director-General, Directorate for Youth Development, Kano was presented to the team of Government Technical College, Kano by Prof. U. G. Danbatta, Vice President Digital Bridge Institute, who incidentally was an old student of the school. The first place prize of a laptop donated by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Kano State was coincidentally presented to the team of Government Science College Dwakin Tofa by the Dr. Bashir S. Galadanci, the Commissioner of the Ministry

The next set of prizes was the individual prizes. These include the prizes for teachers of the two-runner up schools which were wall clocks. The prize for the teacher of the winning school was a printer donated by Alhaji Abdullahi Nashe of Mediwat Computer School presented to Malam Aminu U Giwa of Government Science College Dawakin Tofa by the president of the Student Union of the Kano State Polytechnic. The prize of best female participant, a 24-inch television donated by the Ministry for Women Affairs was presented to Miss Binta Kabir Sallau of Government Arabic College, Goron Dutse by Mrs. Fatima Ibrhaim. The star prize of overall best student also a desktop computer donated by the Director of Press, Kano State Alhaji Sule Ya’u Sule went to Master Nura Abdullahi Adamu of Government Technical College, Kano.

In addition to these prizes, training scholarships were also given to the winning schools for both the students and teachers by three training institutions in the state. These are Hands-on Institute of Information Technology (HIIT) PLC, Mediwat School of Computer Sciences and Intersystem Computer Institute. Perhaps the star attraction was the donation of N50, 000 to the winning school by Mr. Kayode Shabajo on behalf of HIIT PLC to be shared to the students (N10, 000 each), the teacher (N15, 000) and the school (N15, 000).

With the distribution of the prizes over, it was time for closing statements by representatives of the participants and the teachers as well as some of the guests. The vote of thanks was offered on behalf of the organizers by Mrs. Fatima Ibrahim, Gender Officer of CITAD who thanked all the organizations and individuals who helped in one way or the other in making the event a successful one.