Internet Access: Foundation inaugurates Kiwix4School app in FCT school

The Open Foundation West Africa (OFWA) has inaugurated a Kiwix4School app at Federal Government Boys College (FGBC), Wuye, Abuja, to address students’ challenges in accessing internet-based curricular resources.

Ms. Obiageli Ezeilo, Assistant Director, Federal Ministry of Education, said while inaugurating the app on Thursday that the project is being implemented by OFWA under the Wikimedia Foundation.

According to Ezeilo, who is also a Kiwix ambassador, the aim of the project is to provide students with the opportunity to access available educational information.

“KIWIX serves as a complementary service to education by providing offline educational materials.

“The Kiwix app being introduced in FGBC today will help revolutionise education. It will solve the problem of internet connectivity we experience in Africa and Nigeria.

“We have this problem of internet connectivity—low internet or no internet connectivity at all. So with this app, those challenges would be solved.

“Educational contents would be downloaded into the school’s system, and this will also serve as a control measure because students will not have unnecessary interference from the internet.

“It is also going to cut costs because, instead of buying data all the time, you don’t need to spend that money anymore,” he said.

Ezeilo also said that FGBC was the pilot test for the Kiwix4School project, while other schools would be brought on board with time.

She added that the app would not only be beneficial to students but to teachers as well.

In her remarks, Mrs. Marian Ifejika-Tor, Assistant Director, Federal Ministry of Education, serving in FGBC Wuye, said the app would help students learn faster, especially in assessing information or resource materials.

“Whenever you give them assignments, they can easily go to the school’s media lab to get access to the information.

“This new development is great because it starts with the children to catch them young, and they will, in turn, sell the idea to their parents.

“So, I think catching the young ones is very important and very key to education,” she said

Similarly, Mr. Adebayo Adetunji, School Media Staff, FGBC, Wuye, described the attitude of the students and their acceptance of the app as great and welcoming.

Adetunji said that it was not difficult for the students to learn how the app operates because some of them were already computer-inclined.

“The students are very smart and inquisitive; they are always ready to work, so whenever they see technology-related skills, they welcome them with open arms.

Adetunji encouraged students generally to delve into the use of technology to grow and build careers for themselves because the opportunities were enormous.

Andrew Onomuakpokpo, Head Boy of FGBC, Wuye, commended the foundation for bringing the opportunity of Kiwix4School to his school.

According to Onomuakpokpo, the project is awesome, and apart from the fact that it will help us to learn faster and better, it will also help us to build our computer skills.

“As the head boy of the school, I will put all my efforts into learning this so that I can teach my fellow students,” he said.

The Labour Prefect of the school, Donald Akubuilo, said the Kiwix4School app had opened a smarter and better way to learn.

“It is very rich in materials, so it will boost my learning, and I will be better academically," he said.