Council will deploy dialogue to reduce quackery – Chairman

Tue, Mar 27, 2018 | By publisher


Business

THE Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN) on Tuesday said it would deploy dialogue to reduce quackery to the barest minimum in the Information Technology (IT) industry.

The President and Chairman in Council of CPN, Prof. Charles Uwadia, said that the strategy the council would embark on in reducing quackery would be more of dialogue.

He said this during the CPN Media Executive forum, briefing of its activities and the forthcoming 25th anniversary celebration of the council in Lagos.

“There is need for enforcement of standards in the IT industry but the enforcement is not to close people’s business but to make them do things according to the right standard.

“Dialogue is key to the council achieving its mandate as regards enforcement,’’ he said.

He added that for the past 25 years, the council had faced so many challenges ranging from finance to fighting of unregistered members.

Uwadia said that his tenure from 2017 that would end in 2019, he had embarked on many strides to make sure that the council met its expectation.

He listed some of the achievements of the council as  accreditation of four tertiary institutions on computer science and related courses, student induction programme.

He said others were discussion with the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in area of accreditation of computer based test centres and the movement of CPN’s head office to Abuja and the partnership with media.

He noted that council was making effort to ensure that some of the popular unregistered computer training institute would be properly registered by them.

Uwadia said that to enhance the council’s activities, they had put up structures to ensure that standards were met by all in the industry.

He said that the council had set up three ad-hoc committees to achieve standard for online programme in the country, committee on standard for e-government programme and the committee on CPN’s 25th anniversary.

As regards social media, he said it would be very hard to regulate the cyberspace but advocated educating the public particularly the children on safety online.

The Vice President of CPN, Mr Kole Jagun, said that there would be a form of collaboration with IT agencies to ensure that things were working smoothly.

“There is a joint committee set up between National Information Technology Department Agency and CPN to reduce quackery.

“The committee will also review IT projects embarked by government to ensure that contracts are only awarded to professionals.

“They will also make sure that compliance with also be tailed towards local content and ensure that projects embarked upon will be completed,’’ he said.

Jagun said that as regards the CBT enters, from next year, any centre that did not have CPN logo would not be taken as a centre.

Mr Emma Okonji, the Chairman, Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) urged CPN to bridge the information gap that exists between the council and IT reporters.

“As journalists, we need information and if it is restricted from us, we will put out what we have as it is,’’ he said.

Earlier, the Registrar of CPN, Mr Allwell Achumba said that IT was the fulcrum of any economy and “cannot be ignored and such the need to ensure its full impact for greater yield’’.

“If technology is adopted, it will prepare the country for global competitiveness.

“There is need to control the practice of information technology in the country and so professional practicing the profession should have a license,’’ he said.

He said that the media would be a dependable ally to disseminate the proper standard to the public and urged for a fruitful collaboration. (NAN)

– Mar. 27, 2018 @ 18:58 GMT |

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