At last, Anambra schoolgirls get presidential recognition

…Osinbajo lauds girls over gold medal at World Technovation contest in US
In what can be referred to as presidential recognition over heroic performance, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, on Thursday, received the Anambra State schoolgirls that won the World Technovation Challenge in the Silicon Valley in San Francisco, United States, last month.

The Nigerian team, which was mentored by Uchenna Onwuamaegbu, defeated representatives of other countries including the US, Spain, Turkey, Uzbekistan and China to win the gold medal at the contest.

Accompanied by the Deputy Governor of Anambra State, Dr. Nkem Okeke, Commissioner for Education, Prof. Kate Omenugha, and the Principal of the Regina Paces Secondary School, Onitsha, the six girls: Promise Nnalue, Nwabuaku Ossai, Adaeze Onuigbo, Vivian Okoye, Jessica Osita and Miracle Igboke were warmly received at the Presidential Villa by the Vice President.

Osinbajo , who spoke while receiving the girls on Thursday, said that the Federal Government would be part of the success story and would be talking to the government of Anambra State about what could be done to support the project.

According to Osinbajo, the Federal Government would also collaborate with the Edufun Technik Stem Centre, whose Managing Director, Uchenna Onwuamaegbu, mentored the girls in developing the application.

He said that some of the areas of education that government was looking at were the pre-school and primary school that would take into cognizance technological development.

The Vice President said, “In our new curriculum, what we are looking at is a variant of STEAM. So we are looking at Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths, STEAM.

“We have already drawn up an indicative curriculum and of course the focus is technology because technology is the leveler and it will bridge not a few divides, not just the gender gap, but practically everything, including the knowledge gap between developing countries and developed countries.”

Osinbajo further stated that the federal government was developing a system of code “so that from pre-primary school, young people can begin to learn the system of code writing. They can also begin to learn the development of applications.”

He said: “For us, this is existential. We have no choice but to ensure that young people, especially from pre-primary to primary school, are able to use technology in innovation and creative ways.

The world has changed. The entire system of education has challenge because certainly, we cannot prepare not just for the 21st Century but even the next five years without serious investment in technology.”

On her part, the Deputy Governor of Anambra State, Dr. Nkem Okeke, reiterated the State government continued support and investment in education in view of its critical importance to development.

Also, Uchenna Onwuamaegbu in her speech, said the programme which began in January 2018 was aimed at bringing STEAM education to all parts of Nigeria.

She added that Technovation is a world event that introduces girls into coding and entrepreneurship.

Promise Nnalue, one of the girls who gave an insight on how the FD-Detector App works, explained that the App detects fake, expired and counterfeit drugs.

“The App also teaches about the six categories of drugs, their examples, the bad ones and the side effects,” she added.

The Daily Times recalls that the six teenage girls from Regina Pacis Secondary School Onitsha, Anambra State had won the Gold Medal at the World Technovation Challenge in the Silicon Valley in San Francisco, US.

The team, named Save A Soul, represented Nigeria and Africa in the contest.

The girls developed the “FD-Detector”, an app that combats the menace of fake drugs in Nigeria. The app can ascertain the genuineness of a drug by just scanning the barcode.

Led by Uchenna Onwuamaegbu-Ugwu, CEO of Edufun Technik STEM, Save A Soul clinched the gold medal ahead of 2,000 competing applications from representatives of countries including the USA, China, Spain, Turkey, and Uzbekistan.

Having won, the girls, who were personally sent off by Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano, also attended field trips, workshops including a networking session during their one week stay in the US.