By Emma Amaize

Minister of State for Education, Olorougun (Barr) Kenneth Gbagi, yesterday, distributed 360 laptops to Junior Secondary School, JSS (1) students of five selected federal and state-owned female secondary schools in Delta State, as part of Federal Government’s pilot programme to empower the girl-child.

JSS One students from the Federal Government Girls College, Ibusa, Onicha Ugbo Girls Grammer School, Onicha Ugbo, Our Lady High School, Effurun, Nana College, Warri and Oginibo Grammar School, Oginibo benefitted from the Millennium Development Goal, MDG-assisted Information and Communication Technology, ICT, initiative.

Olorogun Gbagi said that teachers from the benefitting schools would also be trained on the use of the technologies through the MDG Debt Relief Fund, adding that President Goodluck Jonathan approved the programme to fast-track the achievement of Universal Basic Education and gender equality by attracting more girls to school towards the attainment of the national vision on MDGs.

“Our goal is to see the entire education sector embrace the use of new technologies to meet the human resource requirements of the nation for attaining sustainable socio-economic development, global competitiveness as well as the individual’s ability to survive in the contemporary environment”, he said.

The Minister said the task ahead was enormous and urged all stakeholders in education to partner with government in implementing the programme in order to salvage the education system of the country.

He acknowledged the technical support of Zinox Technologies Limited towards the training of teachers on the programme