Virtual high school system to be introduced — Education Minister

Beginning next academic year, Senior High Schools in the country will study through digital platforms with an expert teacher as the conductor.  

Known as the Ghana Virtual High School, the platform would provide blended learning methodology in the schools while providing opportunities for adult learners to remotely participate in the free SHS education online.

The Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, who announced this at the second national digital and distance learning conference in Accra yesterday, said remedial classes would also be conducted for academically challenged students to prepare them adequately for resit examinations. 

Conference

The conference was organised by the Centre for National Distance Learning and Open Schooling (CENDLOS) on the theme: “Reimagining education: A call on multi-stakeholder coordination and action for equitable access to digital and distance learning in Africa”.

The two-day conference, which was opened in Accra yesterday, was organised in partnership with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the Ministry of Education (MoE). 

Digital platforms

Dr Adutwum launched two digital platforms—Learning Passport and Minecraft Interventions.

Developed by UNICEF and Microsoft, the learning passport is an innovative mobile online/offline learning platform that provides children with continuous access to quality education with no classroom required, while the latter is also a virtual platform for studies.

The minister said that Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education was the future and, therefore, any country that wanted sustained future progress needed to adopt the programme.

He added that the government was changing the education system to a sector that encouraged creativity and innovation among learners.

Dr Adutwum said it was in line with this vision that various public STEM schools which were at different stages of completion were being put up in the country.

“We have the opportunity to expand science education to schools across the country and truly double science enrolment in the next two years,” the minister added. 

Significance 

The Director-General of the Ghana TVET Service, Mawusi Nudekor Awity, also said that digital learning was needed to enhance and expand the sector. 

She said presently, her outfit was working with CENDOOS to transform existing content into electronic books to enrich the learning experience of students.  

The UNESCO Country representative, Abdourahamane Diallo, commended the government for the significant progress made in getting education back on its feet after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite the progress, he said there still existed some challenges in making education resilient.

Mr Diallo, therefore, called on stakeholders to help address issues such as weak internet connectivity, high data charges and teachers’ lack of basic skills, among others, to make education more inclusive and equitable.