• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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How investment in coding education helps students leverage local, global opportunities

coding education

Education course that entails Computer programming which is also referred to as coding is now regarded as an essential ability for 21st century learners and is becoming a key component of various levels in education curriculum.

Basic coding courses in schools provide students with the know-how to develop their own websites, apps and computer software. Learning how to code is learning to tell machines what to do. But this requires the mastery of a problem-solving skill known as computational thinking, which involves breaking larger tasks into a logical sequence of smaller steps, diagnosing errors and coming up with new approaches when necessary.

This education trend is what is shaping the next level approach of learning globally. With an increase in importance of coding skills to their national economies, policymakers in many countries are considering national coding education efforts of various sorts and a few education systems have already begun to implement related initiatives.

While the world is attempting to keep pace with technology, the same can hardly be said of Nigeria as a growing number of school leavers in the country lack the prerequisite computer programming knowledge required to function effectively in the 21st century.

There is also the huge burden that a high percentage of Nigeria youths stand little competitive chance of securing high-paying jobs globally because they are ill-equipped to provide the needed solution that huge global workforce demands.

The latest report from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics put unemployment rate at 23.1 percent as of Q3 2018, an increase of 23 percent from 18.8 percent in Q3 2017. Under-employment rate was 20.1 percent while youth unemployment and/or under-employment stood at 43.3percent. It goes without saying that any country serious about preparing its future generation to be competitive in the global job market will ensure her children are actively engaged with technology from a very early age.

While most schools in the country boast of having Computer Science classes where they teach the children how to use the computer, serious efforts need to be channelled to getting the best knowing that computer programming is the most important skill of the 21st Century, and the earlier a kid starts, the better.

It has also become imperative that children be provided access to coding know-how, to ensure that Nigeria and Nigerians are not left behind in the global competitiveness today.

It is no longer news that coding is now the new buzz word or to a large extent a life skill, so children from every segment of society deserve the opportunity to acquire coding skills, to be prepared for the future and to keep abreast with change in the society.

Those who know in the field of education and Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) opine that with the right coding facility in place, Nigerian youths would be exposed to modern technology so as to be globally competitive.

Coding education advocates observe that Coding is the future which must begin now saying that Coding education will help students acquire vocational skills that are immediately relevant to today’s job market as exemplified by numerous IT-related jobs available in the world today.

To them, coding is the new literacy, learning new and more relevant digital skills are vital if todays will survive and thrive in a world increasingly dominated by technology.

Obafela Bank-Olemoh, the special adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Education, said that coding skills aims at optimising the benefits of technology to drive economic and infrastructure development.

“Coding positions students to harness, create, and leverage on local and global opportunities, meet the growing demand for technology skills and approach the world of work as problem solvers by learning to code which involve variety of other capabilities, including, logical reasoning, problem solving, design thinking creativity among others”,

Bank-Olemoh said in the long term, entrenching the culture of coding in Nigerian youths will increase employment and business opportunities in the technology sector and promote best practices.

Microsoft survey released at BETT Middle East recently showed that the majority of teachers see virtual collaboration as a key skill required by students, followed by problem solving and knowledge construction. A further 39 percent believe students will be limited in terms of career options due to a lack of digital literacy.

With the world experiencing seismic shifts in the way we live and work, there is no doubt that coding is the new literacy. The great thing about learning to code is that it embodies the idea that sometimes learning can be effective when you’re not aware you’re learning.

 

KELECHI EWUZIE