ipNX, Nigeria’s pioneering and leading information and communications technology (ICT) company, has partnered with the Oyo State government to provide free high speed broadband internet connection to two public secondary schools in the State in a bid to improve access to technology for students and teachers.
The initiative is in continuation of ipNX’s broader CSR for Education Programme and Oyo State Internet Programme for Schools.
With access to high speed broadband connection from ipNX, teachers and students of Government College Ibadan and Bishop Phillips Academy, Monatan –– the first set of Oyo State schools selected for the project –– are empowered to fully appropriate the benefits of modern technology in the classroom.
The facility was handed over to the two institutions in Ibadan on Thursday October 8, 2020, at a ceremony which had in attendance Chief of Staff to the Oyo State Governor, Chief Bisi Ilaka, Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Barrister Sunkanmi Olaleye, Special Adviser (SA) on ICT and E-Governance to the Governor, Mr Bayo Akande, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Alhaja Atere Aminat Bamidele, Chief Technology Architect, ipNX Mr Seun Oluboyo, as well as Principals and students of the schools.
The schools will enjoy individual 10Mbps (Megabit per second) internet service free for five years in the first instance, and renewable thereafter.
According to Folashade Efiong-Bassey, group executive director, HR & Corporate Services, ipNX, “With ipNX’s superior broadband infrastructure, we are providing Oyo state public secondary schools within our path of fibre coverage, with free high speed internet connectivity to enable thousands of students and teachers appropriate the benefits of technology in the classroom.
“We believe this will facilitate the goals of the State in improving the education, science and technology sectors, which is a vision of the administration of His Excellency, Governor Seyi Makinde.
“Moreover, this initiative complements the recent Federal Government intention to implement Zero-rating for education websites as part of efforts to ameliorate the impact of Covid-19 on Nigeria’s education sector.”
As an organisation, a major portion of ipNX’s corporate social investment has been dedicated to education, and since 2011, the company has provided free internet service to 55 public secondary schools in Lagos state.
As one of Nigeria’s pioneering ICT companies, and a leading Fibre-To-The-Home (FTTH) operator, ipNX believes that world-class connectivity and broadband access to the internet will provide more opportunities for students and teachers to find the best practices, create new solutions, connect and inspire each other, all towards the achievement of better learning outcomes.
The empowerment of students in this way is pivotal to the digital transformation and socio-economic development of Nigeria.