Public JHSs must have computer laboratories — GNECC
The Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC) has recommended to the Ghana Education Service (GES) to provide all public junior high schools (JHSs) with furnished computer laboratories.
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That, according to the GNECC was to enable students in public JHSs to be able to compete effectively with their counterparts in private JHSs in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
This was among recommendations contained in the report of a survey conducted by the organisation between June and October 2013 to ascertain the status of ICT education in public JHSs in the Greater Accra Region and to make appropriate recommendations.
The study revealed a woefully inadequate supply of computers in public JHSs, in spite of the fact that ICT had been made a compulsory subject in the BECE with effect from May 2012.
“To date, most public schools teach only theory, with many pupils sitting the BECE having never touched a computer,” it revealed.
It said the selected schools that benefited from rlg computers had to contend with only 24 laptops, “making the hands-on time rather limited, …especially since there are normally only two or three 35-minute periods a week”.
The study, therefore, recommended that a special fund must be made available to provide public schools with furnished computer laboratories, “since the district assemblies are not up to the task”.
Problems with rlg laptops
Touching on the rlg laptops supplied to schools, the study further recommended that all computers supplied to schools should be equipped with Microsoft Windows and typing softwares.
“One of the problems observed with the rlg laptops was that a number of them were using Ubuntu software as an operating system in place of Microsoft Windows. Although Ubuntu is a free software and has various programmes such as word processing and power point, most of the ICT teachers are not trained to use it.
The study also recommended that to enable pupils to have adequate hands-on experience, the number of computers supplied to each school must ideally be enough for a 1:1 ratio based on average class sizes.
Procurement
On the procurement of laptops and other ICT accessories, it called on the government to put a more transparent and competitive process in place for the supply of laptops to schools to enable it to get value for money.
It said access to the Internet for all basic schools should be a priority and added that all basic schoolteachers and heads should be trained to use computers and the Internet as a first step to ensuring that ICT became part of the teaching, learning and administration process in basic schools.
