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1. PASSNOWNOW

Passnownow.com is an EdTech platform with smart advantages including Curriculum Based Secondary School Class Notes for JSS1 to SSS3 with Assessments, Super Simple Self Studying mechanisms, Past Questions of JSCE, WAEC, NECO & JAMB Exams for practice and preparation and Peer to Peer Collaborative Learning for underserved Students and Teachers.

Rise Networks created Passnownow.com in 2012 and positioned it as one of the most incredible and innovative interventions in Nigeria’s deplorable education sector. Passnownow.com is a revolutionary Mobile Learning Platform that has digitized Nigeria’s High School Curriculum for the first time ever as an open source available for Teachers, Parents and Students all over the Country. It houses all subjects contained in the Nigerian Secondary School Syllabus from JSS1 to SS3 following the daily sequential order with which they are taught in School such that students can read ahead of Classes and in special circumstances where Teachers either do not attend Class, skip teaching certain subjects in the Syllabus or public schools are short-staffed and do not have a Teacher for a subject, the student misses nothing.  In addition, the E-Learning portal provides past questions and answers on University entry level Exams such as WAEC and JAMB, teaches Grammar Tips using new words, short sentences, antonyms, synonyms etc. and connects Parents and Lesson Teachers for extra home tutoring.

Given that the web and mobile are contributing in no small way to education, passnownow.com embodies an online study platform that provides secondary school students with upbeat, on-the-go solutions to all subjects in the simplest ways, and more than that, equip them with an awareness of the larger world.

With over 50,000+ Syllabus and Curriculum based Subject focused content, hundreds of thousands of Registered Users, students, parents and teachers have been subscribing en masse and taking advantage of the content available on Passnownow.com. Students have access to Classwork Notes (JSS1 – SSS3) along with practice questions to test their knowledge after reading/studying on the site, Exam Past Questions for WAEC and JAMB to revise and prepare, a chat room to meet other students with similar goals and challenges to share ideas and knowledge, provision for lesson teachers on request and other value adding features or as low as N100. It’s interesting to note that Teachers even use notes from Passnownow.com to teach in Class given the shortage of supply and the lack of the financial wherewithal for many of them to purchase quality textbooks.

Programs under Passnownow include: TEACHSTEM, DIGITEACH & Takada

• TEACHSTEM is an intensive STEM Focused Technology Education Program with a framework designed as a response to an informal needs assessment conducted for Teachers in Secondary Schools and Tertiary Institutions recently, to equip them with the tools, techniques and methodologies of teaching STEM Subjects effectively in Schools especially to Students interested in Science and Tech at High School and those studying Math and Engineering Courses in Polytechnics and Universities.

• DIGITEACH is an initiative thoughtfully put together by Passnownow.com with the genuine intention of equipping high school students and teachers in Nigeria {beginning with 5 Lagos State Schools as a Pilot} with ICT skills over one academic term period in the following areas:

1. How to Use a Computer; Basic Computer Literacy & Word Processing Skills
2. Using the Internet to conduct Research and improve Classroom Learning Experience & Instructional Content Delivery.
3. Using Microsoft PowerPoint to present Class Content and improve the subject understanding of students in interesting and engaging ways that drive & enhance Learning.
4. Increasing the Proficiency and ability to learn/teach and instruct using Computers and Projectors in Classrooms.

   In the first 2018 Pilot phase, we plan to train 75 Students and 25 Teachers in 5 Secondary Schools within Lagos State bringing the total sum of participants to 500 People and they will receive Certificates of Participation co-branded and signed by HP and Passnownow.com after they have completed the Trainings.

   120 Teachers between the ages of 25 and 40 who teach Science and Tech Subjects in their Schools who will be selected from Technical Colleges, Universities of Technology and Polytechnics as priority] in Lagos, Aba, Kano & Port Harcourt will be direct beneficiaries of the Program which will run for 5hrs, 2days each of a week [weekends] for 8weekends — 80 cumulative Hours. They will be trained by practicing Engineers in different fields and we will also adopt a top to bottom approach where Professors of Engineering in Universities will form part of the Faculty to train the Secondary School Teachers. We’ll partner the Nigerian Society of Engineers to secure Certification for the Teachers for the Training and work with the Association of Women Engineers of Nigeria for post program mentoring for the female teachers by their Members.

• TAKADA Children Literacy Empowerment Initiative {Northern Nigeria}

  Takada is an Hausa word which means book. And here, we are using it as the name of an innovative literacy empowerment programme for children in Northern Nigeria, especially those in the rural communities. The Takada project embodies a Train-the-Trainer Plan which will train a group of youths and adults as community of organizers, providing them with the support and resources they need to organize coaching Programmes that will help to teach and improve the literacy level of children and primary school pupils in Northern Nigeria. The aim of TAKADA is to provide children and young people with sufficient information and resources they need to lift themselves out of poverty as they grow up. And the mission is to empower youth and adults in Northern Nigeria to become agents of social change in their communities. This will be achieved by ensuring that children, especially low-income primary school age pupils can read and write before they reach the age of 10 years. We have plans to extend this to pastoral families who may not be interested in the formal education. The Programme will also explore other modes of Teaching and Learning which could be useful to their line of work by designing a useful curriculum that tackle real life problems and democratize this content via available and cheap means of communication e.g. radio and mobile phones. The content will be local (most probably in Hausa language) and we will leverage possible partnership with existing media platforms such as the BBC towards reaching target audience.

 

2.  The Nigerian Student Leaders Fellowship Program – TNSLFP

The lack of visionary and accountable leadership has remained a troubling blight on Nigeria’s democracy for the past sixteen years. The cost, in lost opportunities, mismanagement and impunity are staggering; mostly evident in poor human development, violence and instability in most parts of the country. By investing in leadership development for its youths, Nigeria can create momentum towards the realization of democratic dividend in the 21^st century and thereby strengthen the foundation for an enduring democracy. The footprints of Rise Networks in Youth mobilization and empowerment have expanded the network of partners and friends who share in our vision. Unfortunately, these achievements pale into insignificance given the effect of leadership vacuum at all levels of governance in Nigeria. In the light of this, our desire (as expressed in our medium term strategic plan) is to channel our experience in youth empowerment and network with private and public sector leadership, leveraging goodwill among Nigerian youths towards the creation of a new breed of informed and empowered young Nigerians who are prepared for higher level leadership roles at the community, state and federal levels of government. Our target audience are mainly students in universities and other tertiary institutions and our long term goal is to create momentum for the development of new breed of visionary, accountable leaders as change champions and democrats in Nigeria. By providing civic and political education for students in Nigerian universities and other tertiary institutions and supporting them to play leadership roles in their communities, RISE Networks hopes to improve political consciousness of youths (who make up the biggest part of Nigeria’s population), thereby mobilizing their voices for change in Nigeria.

 

3.  Financial Literacy and Leadership Program –  FINLEAD

FINLEAD  is a novel initiative we have carefully and tenaciously put together at Passnownow.com, the E-Learning Project of RISE NETWORKS with the intention to equip secondary school students in Nigeria with skills in Financial Literacy and Leadership, two important skills necessary in preparing them as effective leaders within Private and Public Sector in their adult lives.

The programme is intended to help secondary school students see Ethical Leadership with Impact as a Must Have while teaching them to understand and appreciate the value of money, its economic importance and the ethical behaviour required for its management.

 

4. Vocational Skills Accelerator Program – VSAP

The underlying objective of the Productive Skills Development Programme (PSDP) is to encourage job creation for Nigerian youths through effective skills acquisition/utilization. The long-term goal will lead to productivity in the economy and consequently enable Nigeria to take her pride of place amongst nations of the world. To achieve this, we believe that Nigeria must move on from just creating and empowering entrepreneurs with personal wealth and focus on strengthening industries and job creation platforms that posses proven and efficient models. Direct Seed Funding should be for businesses that have sustainable job creation deliverables in their Plans. Education must be relevant to industries and they must ensure to absorb the highest quality candidates from our education system. In the same vein, the demand for manpower must be matched with the supply of relevant skills.

This Programme will also deepen the understanding of young people on the importance of looking beyond non-existent white collar jobs which has been the focus of their dreams and ambitions and help them have  more realistic goals towards the job market. In the light of this therefore, participants in the Productive Skills Development Programme will be expected to create secondary employment opportunities for other young people and extend their skill sets to other youths. Special attention will be on how many jobs each SME can create instead of merely focusing on the profit each enterprise can generate.

 

5.  The Party Challenge

The Party Challenge is a Platform initiated by Rise Networks to encourage the discussion of key political issues that have particular meaning to youths [cost of tuition fees, payment of their lecturers, jobs, harassment by state controlled security agencies], facilitate debates amongst young people from different political parties in Nigeria with the aim of influencing civic attitudes, improving access to political information, boosting voting numbers and increasing political participation amongst youth in Nigeria.

Debates place the voices of young people on the Agenda and the format will allow for Youth representatives of Political Parties to make cases for their parties to other youth with the objectives of getting more young people to join political parties, learn about political structures and share their views on 20 Policy Based Questions to which the audience can vote.

Our most important anticipated outcomes from this exercise are to see more participation in non-electoral forms of politics such as signing a petition, early voter enfranchisement and the demonstrated increased capacity of Young People to participate in the voting process and understanding/management of Political Party Structures at local, state and national levels. We also hope to define “participation” as not just voting for candidates but as taking on the responsibility of joining political parties to run for office as well.

 

OUR ANNUAL EVENTS

1.  Rise National Youth Debate Championship (Formerly known as Rise National Youth Forum – RNYF)

It is common knowledge amongst several Nigerians that RISE NETWORKS has in the last decade independently created and managed Nigeria’s most successful Youth Engagement Programme- the RISE NATIONAL YOUTH FORUM which was in 2011 reputed to be the largest gathering of young people across different locations in the country by former first lady of the United States; Mrs Michelle Obama. It has been described severally as the most successful Youth engagement/empowerment Programme with presence in all the six geo-political zones of Nigeria. It also received widespread support and partnership from prominent corporations, governments and individuals in the country. Through this Platform, we provided a springboard for young people from diverse disciplines within our society to hear from the excelled and established individuals of our time, birthing in them a greater vision for life and inspiring them to greater heights as they scale the ladder of success.

In 2018, we decided to go a step further and give Nigerian youth a platform to manage narratives on social and political issues in Nigeria, this birthed the Rise National Youth Debate Championship. This platform will provide the youth ample opportunities to verbally express themselves, dictate the narrative and drive the conversation.

 

2. The Ideas Competition for the Nigerian Commemoration of the United Nations International Youth Day  

The International Youth Day is an awareness day designated by the United Nations to draw attention to a set of cultural and legal issues surrounding youth. The day was endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly based on recommendation by the World Conference of Ministers responsible for youth which said that the August 12  of every year be declared International Youth Day. Rise Networks as an institution passionately dedicated to assisting Youths to express and achieve their highest feats in idea building, education advancement and wholesome human development annually commemorates the International Youth Day in Nigeria with a spectacular three-Part youth event.

 

3. E-LEARNING SUMMIT

The education sector in Nigeria has experienced daunting challenges over the course of the last four decades due to a number of socioeconomic factors which include the sporadic increase in population, paltry government budget allocation to education, limited human resource amongst others. Globally, the recent technological disruption in the education sector in inspiring gradual change in teaching and learning paradigms amongst Nigerian students and teachers.

Technology is transforming education in Africa at an unprecedented rate. With the rapid growth of mobile learning, the e-learning market is set to be worth well over US $530 million by 2018.

E-learning is not only helping students learn better, but it is also giving underprivileged learners inexpensive access to educational content.

Passnownow.com seeks to organise eLearning In Nigeria in June 2018 with the aim of creating a convergence platform for educators, innovators and policymakers under one roof to discuss and ideate innovative solutions that can produce shared vision for utilising resource-rich tools and systems that interests 21st-century learners in Nigeria.

The Summit will feature exclusive sessions focused on eLearning tools, resources, services, and best practices. Additionally, it will also provide participants with rare opportunities to meet, brainstorm and collaborate on ideas for the productive use of instructional educational technology within and outside the four walls of the classroom.