Literacy Day: Association Seeks Digital Inclusion In FCT

National Association of Seadogs (NAS), Sahara Deck, has urged increased efforts to bridge the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) digital divide.

The capoon of Sahara Deck (Abuja Municipal), Mr Chike Onyia, stressed the importance of digital literacy in today’s technology-driven world.

In a statement he issued to mark this year’s International Literacy Day with the theme, “Promoting Literacy in the Digital Era: Bridging the Gap,” Onyia said, “With literacy and knowledge, you can remove the darkness in the mind and enlighten it for a brighter future.”

“Within the FCT, we have noted that attaining digital literacy, especially among young people, is still far off the mark.

“With the proliferation of IDP camps, street hawking and rising cases of out-of-school children, we need to work extra hard to attain a respectable level of digital literacy in the country and the FCT.

“In this digital era, there is an urgent need to invest heavily in digital skills, especially among the young,” Onyia stated.

He said promoting literacy in the digital era would require a determined, consistent and well-laid-out strategy to address both formal and informal ways of encouraging healthy digital literacy, especially among the young.

According to him, the FCT administration and all elected officials must take stock of the number of primary and secondary schools in all the area councils and identify infrastructure, knowledge, and staffing gaps in these schools that could hamper the adoption of digital literacy.