SHS STUDENTS USING FREE GOV’T TABLETS TO WATCH PORNOGRAPHY – Education Minister, Haruna Iddrisu
The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has disclosed that some senior high school students are using government-issued tablets to access pornographic material instead of study materials.
The devices, which are being distributed under the Free Senior High School (SHS) programme, are meant to support digital learning across the country.
“My attention this morning, Mr Speaker, was drawn to the fact that many of the devices are not customised and the students are using it for other purposes, including pornography, which is not acceptable,” he said on Thursday, November 28.
The minister stated in Parliament that around 980,000 of the 1.3 million tablets that are anticipated to be given statewide have already been placed in schools.
According to him, the tablets are meant to provide students with access to instructional resources, such as curricular content that has been uploaded to the devices.
However, Mr. Iddrisu informed the House that some of the tablets that have been provided thus far are not completely customised, enabling pupils to utilise them for non-academic purposes.
“I inherited a contract with about 337 million US dollars where some 1.3 million tablets were to be distributed across the country to all free senior high schools in the country so that learners can have access to digital tools.”
“I’m told that the deployment of that is around 980,000. We are, through GETFund, supporting the distribution across the country,” he said.
The minister mentioned that he had been informed about the improper use of the gadgets.
Mr. Iddrisu emphasised that the administration is taking the issue seriously and will impose limitations on the use of tablets.
“Government is taking a high view of it, and there must be restrictions as to what the tablets can be used for, and it should be used strictly for the purpose of study,” he told Parliament.
In addition to pointing out that the gadgets were made to facilitate digital learning, the minister urged the nation to increase its investments in digital education so that students can continue to compete on a global scale.
“The curriculum is offloaded onto the tablet. It will facilitate digital learning. We are to be mindful that when you are training students, you are training them to be globally competitive, and therefore, we have to take investment in digital skills and digital technology and its deployment much more seriously with increased investment,” he said.
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