VP Bawumia launches “One Teacher, One Laptop” initiative
Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia Friday launched the “One Teacher, One Laptop” initiative to facilitate lesson planning, teaching and learning outcomes. Ghana would not be left behind in the fourth industrial revolution era and would leverage on ICT tools to accelerate socio-economic development, he stated at the ceremony in Accra.
Every teacher in the public school from the kindergarten to the senior high level would receive a computer laptop each. Government would pay 70 percent of the cost of the laptop, while each teacher pays the remaining 30 percent.
Vice President Bawumia performed the launch of the “One Teacher, One Laptop” programme at the Saint Mary’s Senior High School, in Accra. He symbolically presented four laptops to four teachers of the Saint Mary’s Senior High School to begin the distribution of the laptops.
A total of 71 teachers at the School received a laptop each. KA Technologies Ghana Limited, a locally-based ICT firm, is the manufacturer of the computer laptops. The TM1 computer laptops have store of e-books and users could access other relevant teaching materials electronically.
The launch attracted key stakeholders in the education sector, including teacher unions, directors of education, managers of educational institutions, teachers and students.
Vice President Bawumia said the initiative was at the heart of the President to improve teaching and learning performances towards attaining the Sustainable Development Goal Four.
He said teachers were indispensable to building the human capacity of the nation and government was committed to providing the requisite ICT tools and infrastructure to achieve education transformation and socio-economic development.
He noted that the Fourth Industrial Revolution was highly dependent on ICT skills and knowledge, therefore, the government would equip teachers to access teaching and learning resources to improve performance.
Dr Bawumia said the 21st Century required the blend of face-to-face and virtual teaching, especially with the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic, and that government would support those efforts by providing the necessary tools and infrastructure to achieve that vision.
Additionally, he said, the Government had provided free wifi to 722 senior high schools to ease access to learning materials online.
The Vice President said Ghanaian students abound with IT talents as two senior high schools – Prempeh College and Mamfe Methodist Senior High School – won Robotics and Coding World Championships recently.
Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Education Minister, in brief remarks, said the launch was in fulfilment of the government’s promise to equip teachers with ICT tools to enhance performance and socio-economic development.
The Minister thanked the Ghana Education Service and teacher unions for collaborating with the government in making the programme a reality.
Madam Omolara Olakunmi, the General Manager of KA Technologies Ghana Limited, for his part, said education and technology were two key ingredients that held the future of the nation.
This was because education was a beacon of light whilst technology was an enabler that expanded the frontiers of knowledge to achieving greater heights.
She lauded the digitisation agenda of the government to making teaching and learning easier and improving the lives of Ghanaians.
Ms Phillipa Larsen, President of Ghana National Association of Teachers, on behalf of the teacher unions, thanked the government for fulfilling its promise to teachers, saying that the laptops would improve methods of imparting knowledge and lesson planning.
“It’s a dream come true and would enhance performance in the classroom,” she added.
Ms Larsen asked the beneficiaries to ensure proper maintenance culture to prolong the longevity of the laptops.
Source: Graphic online
