59 Educational institutions receive ICT packages
Fifty-nine educational institutions on Tuesday received Information Communication Technology (ICT) packages which include 864 computers and accessories from the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), as part of its Schools Connectivity Project.
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The GH¢3.03 million package also include 864 uninterrupted power systems (UPS), 62 air conditioners and 45 projectors. The items went to six schools for the death; 16 integrated community centres for employable skills (ICCESS); 10 girls schools, seven government secretarial schools, six nursing training schools and 16 senior high schools.
Bridging digital divide
The School Connectivity Project seeks to help bridge the digital divide between rural and urban Ghana, through the provision of computers, printers, scanners, projectors, servers as well as internet interconnectivity.
Besides helping to equip students of the beneficiary schools with Information Technology (IT) skills, it is also to empower the ICCESS to combat youth unemployment and rural-urban drift and contribute to the development of micro and small-scale enterprise among the youth.
ICCES centres are the vocational schools that teach valuable skills such as masonry, electricals and dressmaking, as well as supporting students in general areas such as Mathematics, English and Health.
Take advantage
Speaking at the ceremony, the Administrator of GIFEC, Mr Kwabena Owusu Akyeampong, said it was the expectation of the fund that the items would be used for their intended purpose to promote the teaching and learning of ICT in schools.
“I would encourage students to take advantage of the opportunity made available to them to improve their knowledge and skills in ICT in order to get themselves ready for the job market after completion of school,” he said.
He noted with concern the recurrent cases of poor maintenance that characterised items received by some beneficiaries and urged the heads of the beneficiary institutions to ensure “healthy maintenance culture among users, in order to ensure that the government funds are put to effective use.”
The Assistant Headmaster in charge of Administration of the Mampong School for the Deaf, Mr Goodluck Kpenyi, said the package would help students who suffer disability, better adapt to the use of IT gadgets.
He commended the fund for supporting the school and pledged to ensure that they were maintained.
Since 2010, GIFEC has established ICT centres in all teacher training colleges, national vocational training centres, agriculture colleges and all regional libraries.
