Patrensa (Ash), Oct 25, GNA - Mrs Ernestina Naadu Mills, the

First Lady, has said it was important to focus more on the

promotion of Information Communication Technology (ICT) and

that this was critical to job and wealth creation. She appealed to all Ghanaians to strive to become computer

literate and said people lacking ICT skills risked being marginalized

as the economy and society became increasingly dependent on

electronic communication systems. Mrs Mills was speaking at the launch of the Asante-Akim

Technology Institute at Patriensa near Konongo. Founded by Dr Osei Darkwah, President of the Ghana Telecom

University College, the Institute seeks to pioneer the concept of

"Virtual High School", a new educational innovation that makes it

possible for high school students to have access to global

educational resources through ICT. The First Lady lauded the initiative which integrates classroom

learning with expectations on the job market. She said the vision of the Institute represented hope for millions of rural people in Ghana looking for options to further their

education and expressed the confidence that programmes it offered

would be responsive to the educational needs of the country. "The Virtual High School will significantly provide access and

expand educational opportunities to the thousands of our youth

looking for opportunities to further their education", Mrs Mills said. Mr Kofi Opoku Manu, the Ashanti Regional Minister, said the

introduction of the "virtual education" was a novelty, worthy of

support by all well-meaning Ghanaians. He appealed to industrialists to partner the institute to design

programmes to meet the human resource requirement of industry. Dr Osei Darkwah said the new technology-driven institute was

being positioned as an educational facility for all senior high schools

in the municipality. It would offer professional development courses in both the

traditional and virtual education, he said.