It is no gain to say that the world is now a global village, with the continued evolution of technology becoming inevitable for human survival every day.
There is a global paradigm shift with the trend and heavy demands on the knowledge of technology towards solving human problems in today’s world, making technology the most sought-after skill that needs to be introduced to students in primary and secondary school in Nigeria as part of our curriculum.
Education as an instrument of social engineering and societal development has made tech knowledge easier to ascertain, and channelling and campaigning tech at the lower level of education in our country (Nigeria) will not only inculcate the right tech skills in them but also guide them towards choosing the right future career.
The fundamentals of programming, like HTML, CSS, Javascript, and other rudimentary languages, are a good starting point for their tech journey, with the right introduction to the fundamentals and dynamics of these programming languages laying a solid foundation for them to build on in the future as a career.
As they progress towards the end of their secondary school career, other programming aspects like React, Python, and Node can also be introduced to them.
Currently, the majority of those who ventured into tech have chosen or studied courses or disciplines different from tech entirely in their early years, which makes their proper navigation into the field difficult because they were not exposed to the field in their formative years.
Having early-stage experience in tech-related subjects will make them have a smooth-flowing career in tech and be more effective within the ecosystem.
Technology has become a necessity as we’re in a digital age. By fostering a deeper understanding of technology from an early age, students are better prepared to harness their potential and contribute meaningfully to society.
Making technology part of the curriculum will enhance the teaching of programming and learning, with the curriculum structured and designed to reflect their mental capacity. Tech is an innovative field that gives room for curiosity, which is what kids are known for. Introducing programming to them as a subject and making it part of their curriculum will help them develop critical thinking and nurture their curiosity.
In advanced countries, programming is formed as part of the curriculum and activities to bridge the gap between today and the future with the maximisation of the unlimited opportunities in the digital world.
Nigeria as a country can also adopt such a policy and add programming as a special skills-oriented subject into the curriculum of the primary and secondary schools, which will empower the children with critical thinking, creativity, innovation, and thinking outside the box in solving many of the challenges confronting the country by utilising technology via programming.
Tech (programming) has different branches children can grow in and become experts in those chosen areas of programming. Diverse opportunities are available for the children to build a career path in the future, which include frontend development, backend development, user interface and user experience (UI/UX)), development and operations (DevOps), data science, quality assurance (QA), and product management.
Embarking on a tech career (programming) for primary and secondary school students will make Nigeria a more promising tech nation with a high supply of labour in the ecosystem.
The challenges of data management and digitization of our system will be a thing of the past with the right skills given to the children during their basic education, and this will further improve the awareness of digital education in the country.
Nigeria is not only endowed with human and material resources. The revitalization of our education system with programming will help us harness the potential of children and channel it into something meaningful against what we are experiencing now, such as cyber fraud and others associated with our youth.
Nigeria’s future in tech will be in safe hands with the maximum security of our cyberspace. Tech will also bring about a bright future for generations to come, with a boost in our productivity as a nation.
Conclusion
The introduction of technology (programming) as a new subject to the primary and secondary school curriculum will reflect the strong commitment to building a firm, vibrant, and prosperous future for the children and the country at large.
Investing in the tech (programming) career of the children remains paramount, and the new knowledge in a changing world where ideas, innovations, inventions, and creativity are not only ruling the world, but for anyone to be useful in the digital world, he or she must be well versed and grounded in the new knowledge, which is programming in the knowledge economy.
Noibi Isola Jelili is a software engineer.
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