The Lagos state commissioner of tertiary education, Tolani Sule, on Wednesday, re-iterated the commitment of the state government to upscaling robotics science to meet 21st-century demands.

Mr Sule gave the assurance at the annual World Robotics Olympiads (WRO) Nigeria National Competition held in Lagos.

He was represented by Kasali Adeniran, the permanent secretary in the ministry.

Mr Sule said that Lagos state was already reaping the benefits of its investments in robotic science education.

The WRO Nigeria national competition was held at the Oriental Hotels, Victoria Island.

The 2024 WRO was facilitated by the Arc-Light Foundation, with more than 25 public and private schools in Lagos state participating.

The event’s planner was Kikks Events, Ikeja.

The WRO competition is annually packaged by Arc-Light Foundation, a non-governmental organisation in partnership with the Lagos state ministry of basic and secondary education.

Mr Sule highlighted various innovative programmes of the administration of Gov Babajide Sanwo-Olu in the development of robotics in the schools.

He said that Mr Sanwo-Olu was aware of the huge impact that robotics science could have on advancing the critical learning abilities of students.

He added that the governor had given much attention to providing infrastructure in public schools in the state.

Mr Sule also said that the government would partner more with private organisations to ensure that the technological demands of the 21st-century would be adequately met in school curricula.

In an interview with journalists, Mr Adeniran elaborated on initiatives employed by the Lagos state government toward achieving the goals.

“Lagos State has equipped  100 schools with Lego kits and facilities to enhance the study of robotics science among the students.

“For us in Lagos State, we are driven by the T.H.E.M.E Plus Agenda of Gov. Sanwo-Olu, which is technology-driven; education is one of the pillars of the agenda.

“Robotics education is key in Lagos State school curriculum and the governor has made deliberate efforts so that our students can be technology-compliant in order to meet the 21st Century demands,” he said.

Mr Adeniran also said that the state government had improved on its education initiative called Eko Excell, which had a presence in all public schools in the state.

The convener of the WRO national competition, Abisola Obasanya, said that the competition was aimed at exposing students in public and private primary and secondary schools to early learning of robotics science.

Mrs Obasanya said that the competition had been helping students and encouraging them in practical demonstrations in robotics science.

“The competition has also been increasing their curiosity and enthusiasm for technology and robotics,” she said.

She said that the theme of the 2024 edition –  `Earth Allies’ –   would help students to initiate ideas on how robots can help mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.

The competitors were grouped into categories.

The categories are: elementary (ages 8-12), junior (11-15 years) and senior (14-19 years).

Lagos City Senior College won in the senior category with 59 points, while Epe Senior High School came second with 54 points, and Ojo Senior High School emerged third with 51 points.

In the junior category, New Era Junior Secondary School emerged winner with 91 points. Eva Adelaja Junior High School came second with 72 points, while Team Legend came third with 46 points.

(NAN)