President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has revealed plans to distribute smart tablets to 1.3 million Senior High School (SHS) students nationwide.
This announcement was made during the launch of the Ghana Smart Schools Project in Accra on Monday.
The Ghana Smart Schools Project is designed to equip students under the free SHS policy with essential technological skills, aligning with the government’s commitment to advancing education through technology.
President Akufo-Addo further disclosed that approximately 100 smart SHSs are slated for construction across the country within the next two years, aiming to enhance the learning environment and educational opportunities for students nationwide.
“To distribute 1.3 million educational tablets to students in SHSs. That is one student, one tablet under the Ghana Smart Schools Project. The tablets are fitted with digital content to aid research, teaching, and learning.
“At the tertiary level, Ghana is pleased to provide at a discounted price tablets and laptops to students and lecturers to facilitate academic [activities]… The government continues to seek innovative ways to do STEM and the FSHS policy.”
“The next phase of the FSHS policy enhancement will be propelled by digitalization. This will allow a seamless online and offline teaching and learning experience,” he stated.
While the government project has received major criticism, Tabitha Ayillah, the Bolgatanga Central Communication Director, says the government’s smart school project is in the right direction.
She stressed that the project is not misplaced, adding that “those people who said the government misprioritized are the same people who have tablets for their kids to be using. Their kids have had contact with tablets at age two or less. They are the same people who say the government is not prioritizing right. Whether we like it or not, our children are going to be competing with children who are better off than us. We need to take advantage of the 4th industrial revolution.”
Ms. Ayillah, while agreeing that the government could have started from the lower basic level, said the government’s priority has always been senior high school education. “We are looking at the critical areas. We need to give priority to the secondary school areas,” she said.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah|Bolgatanga|
