Make learning of ICT more practical - New Year School participants urge govt

The government has been urged to make the learning of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) more practical to improve on human resource in the country for accelerated development.

The Ministries of Education, Science and Technology, and Communications and Digitalisation must, therefore, collaborate to ensure that training in ICT at the basic school level was more effective.

They must also build smart and learner-centred classrooms across all levels in the country to make education a vehicle for sustainable development. 

The recommendations formed part of a 15-point communique issued at the end of the 75th Annual New Year School and Conference (ANYSC) organised by the School of Continuing and Distance Education of the College of Education at the University of Ghana, Accra.

The event was on the theme: "Nurturing resilience: Adopting technology and embracing humanism for sustainable development."

The three-day programme which started last Tuesday brought together academics, policymakers, business leaders, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to deal with the unprecedented challenges faced by institutions and the need to develop resilience, leverage technology and promote human values and dignity.

Presentation

The Director of the 75th ANYSC, Dr Simon-Peter Kafui Aheto, who presented the communique at the close of the conference, said: “Just as ballot boxes are able to reach every community in the country, so should technology and digitalisation”.

“The digitalisation agenda should cover every corner of the country with ICT facilities such as reliable internet connectivity, hotspot comfort zones and electronic devices,” the communique said.

It further recommended that technology should be deconstructed in a way that extinguishes the “fear of technology”.

“While recognising that digitalisation has the potential to improve transparency and accessibility and reduce corruption, we should be mindful of its effects on human interaction, mental health and general well-being”, it added.

Review of interventions

Other recommendations included review of the various social protection programmes such as NHIS, LEAP and Free SHS to improve access, efficiency and sustainability.

The Ghana Card, the communique said, should be leveraged as a foundational means of status identification to target the implementation of such programmes by linking the card to health facilities with unique IDs or codes for easy accessibility, and the implementation of a robust electronic payment system to deal with corruption and other challenges associated with the disbursement of funds to LEAP beneficiaries, among others.

It also stressed the need to ensure security on all digital platforms so that cyberspaces were devoid of fraudulent activities and threats to the safety of online users to boost citizens’ confidence in accessing technologically enabled services.

Education

The Ministry of Agriculture with the help of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) were also urged to provide more education and awareness of agribusiness and the opportunities inherent for the youth.

“Here, smart devices for agricultural information sharing and electronic payment systems should be tax-free”, it added.

On funding, it urged the government to make resources such as land, expertise and sustainable financing mechanisms readily available, devoid of bottlenecks for all who want to go into the sector. 

Incentive

“This should include efforts to incentivise banks and other financial institutions to introduce products and services that support agricultural enterprises,” it said.

Also, the financial position of the local assembly should be strengthened by substantially increasing the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) and disbursement on time.

Furthermore, it called for the amendment of Article 55(3) and 243(1) of the 1992 Constitution to legalise the participation of political parties in local government.

The Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Development at the University of Ghana, Prof. Felix Ankomah Asante, said the conference provided participants the platform to engage with distinguished panellists, speakers and resource persons to share valuable insights, have thought-provoking discussions and explore innovative yet feasible solutions to challenges that encompassed the country.

“As we draw the curtains on the 75th edition of the conference, I have observed that a lot of learning have gone with excitement on the backdrop of the School of Continuing and Distance Education commemorating 75 years of service,” he said.