Telecommunications services provider, Airtel, has formed partnership with UNICEF under the Reimagine Education Initiative to connect 620 primary schools in Nigeria to digital learning in the coming three months.
This, it said, would change the paradigm of out of school children to reintegrate them back into digital learning, access to education, internet connectivity and possibly increase rural literacy and future learning events.
UNICEF partnership with Airtel is expected to bridge the digital divide and close the gap of access to digital learning platforms, connectivity and access to data while directly impacting over 300,000 students across the country with access to internet and data inclusion.
To achieve this, Airtel added that it would provide resources for digital learning for the first year of the five-year partnership for digital learning to 620 identified schools including reliable broadband connectivity, tablets, and free access to a world class curriculum through the Nigeria Learning Passport (NLP).
The Nigeria Learning Passport (NLP) was launched in partnership with UNICEF and developed by the Federal Ministry of Education to accelerate learning skills and affordable education across various communities.
The e-learning platform provides opportunities for online and offline capability that enables continuous access to quality education with uninterrupted access to quality learning materials. Airtel is also providing free access for any Airtel subscriber to Youth Agency Market Place (YOMA), a UNICEF digital platform for skilling, upskilling and encouraging young people’s engagement.
Speaking at the launch, the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Airtel in Nigeria, Surendran Chemmenkotil, said, “Education, especially digital learning, forms a significant part of the company’s sustainability agenda for Nigeria and it will stop at nothing to bridge the huge digital gap that currently exists in mostly rural primary schools across the country”.
