zinox computers making the difference and bridging the gap betweeen foreign Universities and our own Nigerian Universities.
THE difference between students and graduates of Nigerian schools and other world class schools such as Harvard, Yale or Oxford is the ICT civilization in those schools and the exposure of students of those schools to world class ICT experience.All that is set to become history as Zinox Technologies has embarked on a project to empower Nigerian students in Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
The Zinox initiative is multifaceted; targetted at the lecturers, the students the institution itself.For the students, Zinox Technologies, led by Chief Leo Stan Ekeh, has set up cyber cafes in institutions where students acquire the ICT skills in an informal way, without having to go to lecture rooms.
Also, digital computer labs with 150 systems, upgradeable to a thousand are set up in schools. Such schools in partnership with Zinox on the digital ICT labs are given two to three years to repay and it is highly discounted.
On the scheme for lecturers, Ekeh told Vanguard: “we give the lecturers laptops and give them one year to pay. So when you break it down, it comes to less than N10,000 a month. The laptops are internet-ready.”
He continued, “Zinox is doing this in partnership with Microsoft, Intel and First Bank is bankrolling it. Our target is that by year 2010, with government’s support and the willingness of the school’s administrators — from the university down to the primary schools — Nigeria’s educational institutions would have achieved a minimum of 75% ICT compliance, we will then go to projector-driven lecture delivery. This would make our graduates world-class graduates.”Now there is a lot of excitement on the ICT revolution introduced by Zinox in tertiary instititons.
At the commissioning of the ICT Centre and digital parks of the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Rector of the Institution, Engineer O. I. Nwankwo enthused: “the project being commissioned today has further increased the distance between the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede and others. Today, we are show-casing a complete project which is very dear to our heart. The project has three components: two large ICT centres with 400 wireless internet - connected computers for students, one other Centre (with 50 PCs) for staff and a maintenance unit for the maintenance/assembly and repair of computers and cell phones. Our library facilities also fully computerized.
“We wish to express our profound gratitude to Chief executive of Zinox Computers, Chief Leo Stan Ekeh for his magnanimity in providing us with such facilities. By this gesture, he has touched the academic lives of the present and future generation of students and staff who will undergo transformation from analogue to digital status.”
For Dr. N. S. Oguzor, Provost of the Federal College of Education (Technical) Omoku, Rivers State, at the commissioning of the ICT Centre of the College: “today, we are joining the rest of the global village to automate operations and programmes of our college. This centre, a product of a partnership between Zinox Technologies Limited and Federal College of Education (Technical) has three e-learning classrooms, each stocked with thirty computers, a multi-media projector and a cyber café with 40 work stations. With these facilities, we hope to undertake training of people in Microsoft word, Oracle, Dbase, Autocard and prepare candidates for CISA examinations etc. Certificates obtained in this centre will have an international recognition.
Perhaps, the greatest testimony so far has come from Professor Ilochi Okafor (SAN), Vice Chancellor of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, during the distribution of laptops by Zinox to the staff of the university.
He said: "As knowledge and the processing of information are key drivers for wealth creation and social and economic development, it is imperative from the ICT perspective that by 2020, the Nigerian education sector benefits from a comprehensive ICT ecosystem that ensures 100% computer literacy in secondary and tertiary sector; 100% computer literacy for teachers in the education system.
"As no one can deliver what he does not have, we believe that our teachers, to be effective in their work must first be computer literate in this age where the Internet has facilitated information sharing. The University therefore is ensuring that this tool, the computer, is in the hands of every teacher."The NUC prescribed PC ownership as follows: 1 PC to 4 students, 1 PC to 2 lecturers below the rank of Lecturer 1, 1 PC per Senior Lecturer, 1 notebook per Professor/Reader
Nnamdi Azikiwe University is going beyond this: The Zinox Group is here to distribute one Laptop computer per lecturer irrespective of rank and one per non-academic graduate staff that has declared interest.
Two hundred PCs have additionally been distributed to relevant offices. The computer deployment in the University is as follow : Computer Science lab — 100; Statistics lab - 20; Mathematics lab - 20; Education -44; Electrical/Electronics - 10; MICTU - 9, while every teacher in the Faculty of Engineering has a desktop computer. All HOD and Deans Offices have computers as several other teachers and senior administrative officers have computers in their offices."Internet facilities are now available in most Deans’ and Principal Officers’ offices. The ongoing computerization exercise will ensure that every person in the University will have unhindered access to the Internet, which is being offered presently through AfriHUB.
To ensure full utilization of these resources, the Management of this University had earlier entered into partnership with a US-based ICT company, AfriHUB and in August 2005, commenced the mandatory computer training of every student. 12,554 students benefited from the UMITT (Universal Mandatory IT Training) in 2006. It is now a requirement for graduation. (In fact, about 50 students were stopped from graduating over their failure to meet the basic ICT requtrement of the university, last session.)
"The training of Administrative staff commenced in 2006 and 4285 have so far benefitted. It is important to note that the program for the Academic staff has just commenced. Let me stress here that all the training cost is borne by the University.
"The benefits realizable from the training of every staff and student on computer literacy are enormous in this ICT age. Teaching and learning will be enhanced, information sharing will increase, research will be intensified, contact with peers in Nigeria and abroad will be facilitated, and both staff and students can compete favourably anywhere in the world.
"Chief Leon Stan Ekeh has shown great passion and commitment in the drive to move forward the ICT capacity and capability of our educational institutions. I share his philosophy that in this drive, our ICT companies must pay less heed to profit incentives.
"Zinox today demonstrates this philosophy. We receive these laptop computers of international standards with the latest technology, at affordable prices, subsidized by the University, and with staff enabled to pay over a six-month period."
The Zinox initiative so far has cut across tertiary institutions in the South and the North., the East and West and testimonies abound in all the institutions of the great benefits the institutions and students are deriving from the ICT revolution spearheaded by Zinox.
The Zinox initiative is multifaceted; targetted at the lecturers, the students the institution itself.For the students, Zinox Technologies, led by Chief Leo Stan Ekeh, has set up cyber cafes in institutions where students acquire the ICT skills in an informal way, without having to go to lecture rooms.
Also, digital computer labs with 150 systems, upgradeable to a thousand are set up in schools. Such schools in partnership with Zinox on the digital ICT labs are given two to three years to repay and it is highly discounted.
On the scheme for lecturers, Ekeh told Vanguard: “we give the lecturers laptops and give them one year to pay. So when you break it down, it comes to less than N10,000 a month. The laptops are internet-ready.”
He continued, “Zinox is doing this in partnership with Microsoft, Intel and First Bank is bankrolling it. Our target is that by year 2010, with government’s support and the willingness of the school’s administrators — from the university down to the primary schools — Nigeria’s educational institutions would have achieved a minimum of 75% ICT compliance, we will then go to projector-driven lecture delivery. This would make our graduates world-class graduates.”Now there is a lot of excitement on the ICT revolution introduced by Zinox in tertiary instititons.
At the commissioning of the ICT Centre and digital parks of the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Rector of the Institution, Engineer O. I. Nwankwo enthused: “the project being commissioned today has further increased the distance between the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede and others. Today, we are show-casing a complete project which is very dear to our heart. The project has three components: two large ICT centres with 400 wireless internet - connected computers for students, one other Centre (with 50 PCs) for staff and a maintenance unit for the maintenance/assembly and repair of computers and cell phones. Our library facilities also fully computerized.
“We wish to express our profound gratitude to Chief executive of Zinox Computers, Chief Leo Stan Ekeh for his magnanimity in providing us with such facilities. By this gesture, he has touched the academic lives of the present and future generation of students and staff who will undergo transformation from analogue to digital status.”
For Dr. N. S. Oguzor, Provost of the Federal College of Education (Technical) Omoku, Rivers State, at the commissioning of the ICT Centre of the College: “today, we are joining the rest of the global village to automate operations and programmes of our college. This centre, a product of a partnership between Zinox Technologies Limited and Federal College of Education (Technical) has three e-learning classrooms, each stocked with thirty computers, a multi-media projector and a cyber café with 40 work stations. With these facilities, we hope to undertake training of people in Microsoft word, Oracle, Dbase, Autocard and prepare candidates for CISA examinations etc. Certificates obtained in this centre will have an international recognition.
Perhaps, the greatest testimony so far has come from Professor Ilochi Okafor (SAN), Vice Chancellor of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, during the distribution of laptops by Zinox to the staff of the university.
He said: "As knowledge and the processing of information are key drivers for wealth creation and social and economic development, it is imperative from the ICT perspective that by 2020, the Nigerian education sector benefits from a comprehensive ICT ecosystem that ensures 100% computer literacy in secondary and tertiary sector; 100% computer literacy for teachers in the education system.
"As no one can deliver what he does not have, we believe that our teachers, to be effective in their work must first be computer literate in this age where the Internet has facilitated information sharing. The University therefore is ensuring that this tool, the computer, is in the hands of every teacher."The NUC prescribed PC ownership as follows: 1 PC to 4 students, 1 PC to 2 lecturers below the rank of Lecturer 1, 1 PC per Senior Lecturer, 1 notebook per Professor/Reader
Nnamdi Azikiwe University is going beyond this: The Zinox Group is here to distribute one Laptop computer per lecturer irrespective of rank and one per non-academic graduate staff that has declared interest.
Two hundred PCs have additionally been distributed to relevant offices. The computer deployment in the University is as follow : Computer Science lab — 100; Statistics lab - 20; Mathematics lab - 20; Education -44; Electrical/Electronics - 10; MICTU - 9, while every teacher in the Faculty of Engineering has a desktop computer. All HOD and Deans Offices have computers as several other teachers and senior administrative officers have computers in their offices."Internet facilities are now available in most Deans’ and Principal Officers’ offices. The ongoing computerization exercise will ensure that every person in the University will have unhindered access to the Internet, which is being offered presently through AfriHUB.
To ensure full utilization of these resources, the Management of this University had earlier entered into partnership with a US-based ICT company, AfriHUB and in August 2005, commenced the mandatory computer training of every student. 12,554 students benefited from the UMITT (Universal Mandatory IT Training) in 2006. It is now a requirement for graduation. (In fact, about 50 students were stopped from graduating over their failure to meet the basic ICT requtrement of the university, last session.)
"The training of Administrative staff commenced in 2006 and 4285 have so far benefitted. It is important to note that the program for the Academic staff has just commenced. Let me stress here that all the training cost is borne by the University.
"The benefits realizable from the training of every staff and student on computer literacy are enormous in this ICT age. Teaching and learning will be enhanced, information sharing will increase, research will be intensified, contact with peers in Nigeria and abroad will be facilitated, and both staff and students can compete favourably anywhere in the world.
"Chief Leon Stan Ekeh has shown great passion and commitment in the drive to move forward the ICT capacity and capability of our educational institutions. I share his philosophy that in this drive, our ICT companies must pay less heed to profit incentives.
"Zinox today demonstrates this philosophy. We receive these laptop computers of international standards with the latest technology, at affordable prices, subsidized by the University, and with staff enabled to pay over a six-month period."
The Zinox initiative so far has cut across tertiary institutions in the South and the North., the East and West and testimonies abound in all the institutions of the great benefits the institutions and students are deriving from the ICT revolution spearheaded by Zinox.
By Peter Okhiria of Vanguard Newspapers
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