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DELSU gets N60m ICT centre, govt decries scamming

By FROM CHIDO OKAFOR, WARRI
04 May 2010   |   10:00 pm
THE Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, at the weekend, took possession of a N60 million state-of-the-art Information and Communication Technology (ICT) centre donated by Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), with a charge to the students to aggressively protect the facility. Making the plea at the commissioning ceremony, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan noted that in this…
THE Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, at the weekend, took possession of a N60 million state-of-the-art Information and Communication Technology (ICT) centre donated by Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), with a charge to the students to aggressively protect the facility. 

Making the plea at the commissioning ceremony, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan noted that in this 21st Century, any student who is not computer literate was disadvantaged, as virtually every aspect of human endeavours had been computerised.

Represented by the state’s Commissioner for Higher Education, Dr. Hope Eghagha, the governor warned against using the facility for “yahoo-yahoo” (scam browsing).

While thanking SNEPCo for the gesture, Uduaghan observed that the centre, which has about 50 computers, was grossly inadequate when compared with the student population of about 45,000.

He therefore, urged other firms to emulate SNEPCo by building similar facilities in the university

DELSU’s choice as a beneficiary, according to the SNEPCo’s Managing Director, Mr. Chike Onyejekwe, was in line with the company’s vision to contributing to the development of computer literacy at secondary and tertiary levels of education in the Nigeria.

“The initiative is particularly auspicious today when ICT education is receiving topmost attention in the recent Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Local Content Act, signed into law last week by Acting President Goodluck Jonathan, “Onyejekwu said.

The project, which began in November 2008 and was completed in September 2009, consists of a fully furnished ICT block, a 27KVA power generator and a water borehole; 50 units of desktop computers a server, two printers, education software and internet connectivity with three years subscription as well as a maintenance arrangement.

The package, it was learnt, also comes with an IT training for interested lecturers.

SNEPCo’s computer literacy campaign was said to have begun in 2007 in response to a study, which revealed that ICT knowledge was low among students and teachers at secondary school and higher educational levels in Nigeria.

The study also revealed that computers were foreign to most of the students and undergraduates, thus giving birth to SNEPCo’s ICT initiative as a special Social Corporate Responsibility area, not only to familiarise students with computers, but also to develop their capacities for global challenges.

In the first intervention in 2007, seven secondary schools in the oil producing states got ICT buildings furnished with 10 desktop computers each.

In 2008 and 2009, enlarged facilities were completed for four secondary schools and four universities, this time around, spreading all over the country.

The benefiting secondary schools included Ikeja Grammar School, Lagos; Offa Grammar School, Kwara State; Imerienwen Girls Secondary School, Imo State; and Uwheru Grammar School, Delta State.

The universities were Delta State University, University of Jos, Imo State University and The University of Ado Ekiti. Four of the projects had been commissioned and they include Ikeja Grammar School, Uwheru Grammar School, Offa Grammar School and Delta State University.

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