Govt urged to repurpose Ghana Smart Schools Project money
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary Candidate for Effutu Constituency in the Central Region, James Kofi Annan, has urged the government to redirect resources for the Ghana Smart Schools Project towards establishing or enhancing computer laboratories in Senior High Schools (SHSs) across the country.
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He indicated that this would ensure greater control and monitoring of the project, and every SHS student would have an equal chance of accessing computer-based education.
“Instead, the government must use the same resources to set up computer laboratories, and or retool the existing ones in all the 700 senior high schools across the country, so that every high school student would have an equal chance of accessing computer-based education, rather than the select few,” Mr Annan said in a statement he issued in the wake of the government’s launch of the Ghana Smart Schools Project initiative.
Recall
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on March 25, 2024, launched the Ghana Smart Schools Project, which included the distribution of 1.3 million educational tablets to SHS students.
The project, which seeks to deepen the application of information technology in teaching and learning at the second cycle level, also involved the construction of 100 Smart Schools across the country, 30 of which will be completed by the end of this year. Each tablet is fitted with digital content to aid research, teaching and learning.
Suspend project
Citing Ghana's present difficult circumstances as an indicator, Mr Annan called on the government to suspend the Ghana Smart Schools Project and questioned the need for the project, pointing out the existing deficiencies in infrastructure in SHSs in the country.
“There are many schools with several uncompleted projects, including GETFUND projects, which have been abandoned. There are a lot of blocks which have been left to rot, dining halls which have been converted into classrooms as a result of these crying calls for infrastructure,” he said.
Mr Annan asserted that the project was flawed, citing evidence gathered from SHSs across the 10 regions. “There is evidence to show that there are schools that have computer laboratories but are not fully resourced to meet the demands of the student population. Some schools have computer labs, but the computers are broken down,” he said.
Mr Annan also questioned the project's feasibility by citing the lack of consultation with school heads before the announcement.
“Some senior high schools in Ghana do not have computer laboratories and laptops. Many school heads have confided in me that there was little or no consultation with school heads ahead of the announcement of the project,” he stated.
