CODELAGOS: 15,000 trained as Ambode approves next phase of initiative

• 5000 Coding centers to open this year

Pleased with the success of the first phase of the CodeLagos initiative with over 15,000 individuals trained so far, Lagos State Governor, Mr.  Akinwunmi Ambode, has approved the implementation of the next phase of the initiative, focused on expanding the reach and scope of the project to cater for more Lagos residents through its “In–School” and “Out-of-School” pathways.

CodeLagos, which has set the goal of teaching 1 million Lagos residents basic coding skills, was initiated in 2016.

Giving progress report on the progress of the programme and the commencement of the new phase, Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Mr. Obafela Bank-Olemoh in a statement on Wednesday confirmed that over 15,000 individuals have been trained to date and that all is now set to roll out across 5,000 primary and secondary schools, as well as 50 Out-of-School centres by December 2018.

He said on Monday April 9, 2018, coding classes would commence in the Out-of-School Centres, which cater for Lagos residents who are above 16 years and are not currently in any primary or secondary school in Lagos.

“Coding classes will commence on April 9th in four centres – Herbert Macaulay Library, Yaba; Isolo Public Library, Isolo; Ilupeju Public Library, Ilupeju; and Onikan Youth Centre, Onikan. Additional centres including other Lagos State public libraries, community centres and private training centres are scheduled to roll out in a few weeks.”

Bank-Olemoh also disclosed that plans are at advanced stage to commence coding classes in 400 primary and secondary schools across the 6 Educational Districts in the State – both Government and Private – in the coming academic term set to resume this month.

 “We will continue to train students in Scratch, Python and Mobile App development, depending on their level.  This term we will also be introducing Oracle’s Alice and Greenfoot programming languages, through a partnership with Oracle Academy,” the Special Adviser said.

In a related development, Bank-Olemoh said Governor Ambode recently approved the release of funds for the payment of 224 CodeLagos facilitators, adding that the funds were disbursed to verified facilitators who successfully delivered training to students in the 2017/2018 school year, in both government and private schools.

According to him, “Facilitators in the government schools receive a CodeLagos grant of N25, 000 per term while the facilitators in private schools receive a grant of N20,000. The grants are to compensate the additional time spent for prep work and to help cover some basic expenses like data purchase for personal learning and development. All CodeLagos facilitators are trained free of charge by Lagos State and receive support and resources throughout the term. Another round of training has been scheduled to hold this April as we commence the new term.

 “Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has given us a mandate to prepare Lagosians for the future economy. I believe we can educate one million people in the language of the future. Our success in Lagos State will create a ripple effect across Nigeria, and if we can change Nigeria, we can change Africa. If we can change Africa, we can undoubtedly change the world,” Mr. Bank-Olemoh said.

He said the progress of the CodeLagos programme can be tracked on www.codelagos.org and that the classes are totally free.