Schoolchildren in Ghana Go Digital to Increase Employment Chances

The programme was set up by IICD and Connect4Change consortium partner Edukans. Teachers from ten basic schools and junior high schools in Ghana’s Northern Region and the Volta Region will receive computer education. Their schools will be equipped with new computers that have access to offline educational resources. Teachers can then learn their students to use the digital resources.

This school programme does not focus on computer education, but education in general. Teachers are trained to use computers in existing classes such as biology, history and languages, rather than to see computer use as a stand-alone course. Children then learn how to use the computers in class through their teachers.

Access to relevant teaching material

Learning how to use computers in all courses ensures that children have access to the most current and nationally relevant teaching material. This makes it easier for them to move from junior high school to senior high school. Learning how to use a computer will also ensure that even the children who do not move on to senior high school, will be able to find better jobs.

In addition to the trained teachers and the students who benefit, the administrative school staff also learns how to work with computers. This means that the margin for errors reduces and that statistics about students will become more accurate, providing local and national government in Ghana with better information.

Local training partners

The Ghanaian government stimulates computers for education through its National Investment Fund for Electronic Education (GIFEC). Its policy is to provide access to computers for all Ghanaian school children, but in most cases it focuses on getting computers, rather than to integrate them in the courses. The Connect4Change programme provides a valuable addition to this and works with local partners who have a good knowledge of educational needs in the Volta and Northern Region. These partners are WADEP (known for the IICD-supported rural agricultural literacy project), Savana Signatures and the Presbyterian Education Unit.

Growing number of schools

If enough funding is available, the plan is to grow this programme from 10 to 50 schools in 5 years time. A small fundraising campaign has already been set up. Target is to raise 15,000 euro so 1000 more children and 20 more teachers can be trained.