The Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, said the federal government had approved the establishment of a Digital Literacy Council of Nigeria.
Shittu made this known on Tuesday in Lagos at the 2017 Digital Citizenship Summit Nigeria.
He said that Digital Literacy Council was for the development of a National Policy on Digital Literacy.
According to him through the National Policy, appropriate digital literacy guidelines and standards in Nigeria would be promoted.
”The Council is expected to develop a National Digital Literacy Policy and Strategic Action Plan for the implementation of this initiative, as well as identify and harness opportunities for partnerships.
”This is in order to provide digital literacy services to Nigerian citizens, irrespective of their geographical location within the country.
”The council’s decisions will be implemented by the Digital Literacy Management Committee under the leadership of the Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
”The council is already deliberating on its operational methods,” he said.
hittu said that digital literacy was beneficial because it was a requirement for an individual to be competitive and be best prepared for today’s business world of advanced technology.
According to him, it made learning faster, allowed everyone to study at his own pace, lookup words, data, facts, figures.
”It saves hours per month for tasks that could only be done offline, and a means to employment because most jobs today require some form of computer literacy,” he said.
The minister said that the National Economic Council (NEC) had approved a policy to harmonise Right of Way charges payable by telecommunications companies and related public utility infrastructure on Local Governments, States and Federal Highways.
He said that the policy would minimize the spaces occupied, burden on the roads and reduce taxes payable by the telecommunications operators.
”On our part, we are ready to liaise with states and relevant stakeholders for the smooth implementation of the Right of Way project.
”In present day’s high-tech world, digital literacy is a requirement for an individual to be competitive and be best prepared for today’s business world of advanced technology.
”It is the ability to understand and use information in multiple formats from a wide range of sources when it is presented via computers.
”It came to the fore in the last decade with the advent of platforms and apps that have changed the way our world works.
”There are numerous digital applications that we cannot do without them today such as, Mobile Money transactions, e-verification apps that allow people to verify the authenticity of drugs and other products.
”There are also e-learning, online transactions, Health, Education, Banking, workforce, bills payments, among others,” Shittu said.
