Integrate ICT education in Schools

Accra, Dec. 21, GNA 96 An educationist on Thursday called for the integration of Information Communication Technology (ICT) education in schools to create a scientifically and technological literate citizenry. "It is important for us to realize the immense capabilities of the Internet and to harness such power to make life activities easier to accomplish and enjoyable," Mrs Sophia Awortwi, Head Science Education Unit of the Ghana Education Service, said. She was speaking in Accra at the Fourth Annual Award Ceremony of the Global Teenager Project (GTP) Ghana, a non-governmental organization that seeks to empower young people to have access to ICT education under the theme; "Integrating ICT in Education in Ghanaian Schools: The Global Teenager Project Initiative."

In a speech read on her behalf by Mrs Cynthia Acheampong of the Ghana Education Service, Mrs Awortwi emphasized that ICT education would ensure that students understood science and technology to a degree that would make them feel at home in a modern world and enable them to make informed decisions about issues that dealt with scientific matters. She said schools that had taken the opportunity offered by the GTP had made it possible for both teachers and students alike to interact via the Internet. Mrs Awortwi noted that GTP had empowered the youth to have access to ICT education and for teachers to improve on their method of teaching which had always been the lecture method. "Students, who have acquired the skills, are learning faster and better than before; teachers have the opportunity to research to expand their knowledge."

Mrs Awortwi appealed to stakeholders to provide the requisite resources to support the project and make it functional and sustainable. She also advised the beneficiaries to visit websites that would help to educate them to live better and prosperous lives.

Mr Ebenezer Malcolm, Project Manager of GTP, said the project was launched in 1999 to bring the full potential of information and communication technology into the classroom. Mr Malcolm said the aim of the project was to enhance students' ICT and learning skills while increasing the understanding of other cultures by staging lively, global classroom debate in cyberspace. He said the project was being carried out in 30 schools in Greater Accra, Central, Western and Ashanti Regions.

The GTP during the year under review trained 51 teachers in Microsoft and ICT and web development skills and 300 students in web development skills. It has also collaborated with School Net Africa to coordinate successful web development contest where 22 web pages designed by Ghanaian students were entered in competitions. He said the nation was looking up to the educational system to deliver quality education for economic and social development in today's technologically advanced world. "We are faced with the task of providing the necessary devices and strategies to help to achieve the goals of every Ghanaian learner to be able to confidently and creatively utilize ICT in all aspects of life and thus becoming part of the global world."