Government Will Ensure ICT-Driven Educational System - Akufo-Addo Pledges

By James Ayitey

The President has reiterated his commitment to providing the youth of Ghana with a functional, ICT-driven educational system that constantly responds to the challenges and evolution of modern science and technology.

President Akufo-Addo said his "government's focus is to work to provide every school and community with an ICT infrastructure to keep them in touch with global trends, and also equip our youth with the skills that will be necessary for Ghana's economic transformation."

He made this known on Wednesday, April 26, 2017, when he commissioned the AkyemWenchi Educational Circuit Community Information Centre, at Soabe, in the Eastern Region, the very first project he is commissioning as President of the Republic.

In his brief remarks to the gathering, the President noted that his government, as is stated in the NPP's manifesto of 2016, intends to improve the facilities and the curriculum for ICT education at all levels.

The government, he added, also intends to ensure that all teachers have ICT competence.

"I am delighted, therefore, to commission this project, because it is the first to put into expression the NPP's commitment on ICT and Education," he said.

He continued, "I am certain that this community information centre will have a positive impact on learning in the Akyem Wenchi Educational Circuit, and will increase flexibility so that students can access education, regardless of time and geographical barriers," he said.

President Akufo-Addo noted that "if a student studying in one of our communities, for example, wishes to find out what the latest technology in electroplating is, his or her problems could be minimized if he or she had an opportunity to use a computer equipped with the services of the internet.

This is because a world of rich and abundant knowledge will lay before him or her at the click of an icon on a computer.

ICT in education has a multiplier effect, by enhancing learning and providing students with new sets of skills; by reaching students with poor or no access (especially those in rural areas); by facilitating and improving the training of teachers; and by minimizing costs associated with the delivery of traditional instruction."

Thus, to enhance access to information to users of the AkyemWenchi Information Centre, the President revealed that the Ghana Investment Fund For Electronic Communications (GIFEC) has equipped the centre with access to free internet services.

"In the not too distant future, the free WiFi coverage policy will be extended to senior secondary and tertiary institutions nationwide dedicated to learning, administration and enhancing the capacity to do research," the President assured, much to the delight of the gathering.

President Akufo-Addo challenged the youth of Soabe to take advantage of the opportunities that will be afforded to them by the facility.

"You are living in perhaps the most exciting time in our history, so please make the best out of it. Some say this is our time.

I say this is your time and tomorrow will be the time of your children.

We want to build a new Ghanaian civilization, where fair opportunities are given to all to live dignified, productive lives by dint of their hard work, creativity and sense of enterprise.

It is a bright period in the Ghanaian journey," he noted. The Information Centre, constructed by the Prof. & Mrs. S. K.B. Asante Educational Trust Fund, boasts 40 desktop computers.

The Information Centre is not the only project undertaken by the Prof. & Mrs. S.K.B. Asante Educational Trust Fund in this town.

In 1996, the Fund was responsible for the electrification project of Soabe. Adjoining communities, such as AkyemWenchi and Kusi, have also been beneficiaries of scholarship packages for students, the construction of 13 teachers' quarters, a library and a modern police post.

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