Government urged to support initiatives to teach children coding

Experts in emerging technology economy have called on the government to support initiatives to teach children coding, which would become as basic as reading and writing.

Chief Content Officer at De Royale Hall Resources, Elvis Eromosele, made this appeal in his speech at the closing ceremonies of ‘A Summer to Code’ training in Alimosho, Lagos.

He said that coding, which makes it possible for us to create computer software, apps and websites, would become the new literacy.

“It is imperative that children be provided access to coding know-how, to ensure that Nigeria and Nigerians are not left behind.

‘Coding is now a life skill’, so children from every strata of society deserve the opportunity to acquire coding skills, to be prepared for the future and to keep abreast with change in the society.

“We only need to provide the platform to set them on the right path. ‘A Summer to Code’ helped to create an enabling environment and platform to help them find expression for their thoughts and imaginations.

“In the course of this summer, we found that coding equally helped to strengthen the children’s logical thinking, improved their problem solving skills and boosted their readiness for the digital future,” Eromosele explained.

Commenting on the experience, Eromosele said that the six Saturdays of learning to code, was highly enlightening, adding that “The class had 21 participants, aged between 4 -18 years.

By the end of the third week, the kids were creating basic websites, and understood the concept of mobile apps design, development and deployment. Children began to code with minimal supervision by the end of the third week.”

It takes about two to three months, according to him, to learn coding (programming) at a level that the learner can work with, stressing that ‘A Summer to Code’ is the “just first step in turning on the light for children in Alimosho.”

The co-coordinator of the project,Godfrey Adejumoh, harped on the need for government to support efforts to bring coding classes to children not just across Alimosho but Nigeria.

Adejumoh tasked the government to set up a centre where kids can access computer systems, acquire at least three hours of lessons a week, including some measure of follow up and mentoring to keep them in check.

“We can unleash the creative energies of the young people in Alimosho, and indeed across Nigeria, and help them to discover the beauty of storytelling using coding. Coding is the future. That future must begin now!” Adejumoh added.

DeRoyale Hall Resources Limited, based in Lagos, is an educational, content development and research company.

By Tony Nwakaegho