Google To Train 200,000 Students in Africa

Google said that it is expanding its Digital Skills for Africa programme by engaging local organisations to train 200,000 students in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa in one year, the Daily Trust reported. Google’s CS First scheme introduces children aged 9 to 16 years old to coding and computer science in a creative club environment. The CS First club members build projects in Scratch (scratch.mit.edu), a blocks-based programming language.

The training will be delivered through 26 collaborating organisations in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. For areas with limited access to the internet and limited devices, CS First may be delivered through CS Unplugged.

The head of brand and reputation, Sub-Saharan Africa, Mojolaoluwa Aderemi-Makinde, said the training programs seek to improve children’s confidence in interacting with computers and their willingness to try new things.