Govt makes strides in bridging gender gap in ICT — Communications Minister

The government has made significant strides towards bridging the gender gap in Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the country.

To this end, the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation (MoCD) and its agencies are undertaking  series of deliberate interventions geared towards whipping up young girls interests in ICT.

The interventions include the Girls-In-ICT programme, ICT laboratories for Senior High Schools, e-Transform and Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion projects.

The Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, who made this known, said the move formed part of efforts to create equal opportunities for all.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said this when she toured some training centres of the Girls-In-ICT programme in Tamale, last Friday.

The tour enabled her to assess the ongoing training for selected girls in basic ICT skills, as well as interact with them.

Accompanied by some officials of the ministry and the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), the minister visited the Sagnarigu Community ICT Centre, Jisonayili Primary and the Tamale Community ICT Centre.

As part of the tour, she paid a courtesy call on the Northern Regional Minister, Shani Alhassan Shaibu.

Advice

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful expressed satisfaction with the training and said within the few days, the girls had acquired some basic skills in ICT.

"I am very impressed with the quality of instructions they have received from the facilitators.

Some said they had never seen computers before but now they are able to create websites and games," she noted.

She encouraged the young girls to take advantage of the opportunities the ICT world offered people globally.

The minister said just as their male counterparts, the young girls could leverage ICT to create jobs for themselves and become competitive in the job market.

Background

On July 17, the ministry, in collaboration with its agencies, began the training of 1000 girls in the Northern Region in basic skills.

The beneficiaries are taken through coding, cyber security and website development, among others.

The girls were selected from the 16 metropolitan municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs).

 The MMDAs are, Mion, Karaga, Tolon, Kumbungu, Savelugu, Tamale, Nanton, Sagnarigu, Kpandai, Gushegu, Tatali, Nanumba South, Nanumba North, Yendi, Saboba and Zabzugu.

Writer's email:
mohammed.fugu@graphic.com.gh