The Minister for Communications and Digitalisation and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ablekuma West, Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has called on the private sector to support programs dedicated to the teaching of ICT skills to the Ghanaian child such as the Coding Caravan.
She made the remarks at the start of the 3rd edition of the Coding Caravan at Dansoman ‘A’ Cluster of Schools in Accra, which came off on Wednesday 12th June, 2024. The program, which saw about 200 female students and 30 teachers, selected from 14 basic schools in the Ablekuma West Municipality, being trained in coding using the Scratch program, 3D designs and printing, as well as Internet of Things (IoT), was in commemoration of the 2024 International Girls-In-ICT Day.
In an interview with the media, on the sidelines of the program, Hon. Ursula mentioned that such important initiatives can only be sustained and scaled-up if they receive the active support and participation of corporate Ghana.
“This is such a laudable program and the benefits of it will be seen in the lives of these people and our country in the next 5 to 10 years. It is imperative that we sustain it, and it can only be sustained through sponsorship and funding support from the private sector.”
“So I would urge all those who haven’t yet contributed to it to support this program”, she added.
On his part, Ing. Dr. Kenneth Ashigbey, Chief Executive Officer, Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, spoke of plans to extend the Coding Caravan program and its benefits to students across the rest of the country, including the Northern Belt, through the Accra-to-Paga edition of the initiative. He also mentioned that part of the objective of the Coding Caravan was to get the Ghana Education Service and the Ministry of Education to make Information Communication Technology (ICT) examinations “practical”.
“We want to use the training as a proof of concept that we can make ICT examinations for our children practical… Hopefully, out of this [training], we would be able to get some of the children to use these digital tools to solve problems around them,” he said.
The Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, who encouraged the girls to take advantage of the opportunity provided through the Coding Caravan initiative, stressed the immense benefit of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and encouraged the pupils to pursue careers in the area.
Mr Kafui Amanfo, Director of Operations, IIPGH, stressed the importance of digital literacy for young people.
He described the Coding Caravan as “an inclusive activity” which would be extended to hearing impaired pupils at Mampong in the Eastern Region.
“Leaving the underserved communities behind will not make the digital communication agenda conclusive. We need to bring everybody on board this development programme,” he stated.
In addition to Ablekuma West, the 2024 edition of the Coding Caravan is scheduled to make stops at Shai Osudoku, Sogakope and Mampong in the coming weeks.
