A student behind the computer
The government in collaboration with the British Council and the Wikimedia Foundation has launched a project to provide pre-service teacher trainers and student teachers with the knowledge and skills to develop improved digital literacy and factual writing skills in students.
The Skills4Success project which will be on pilot basis for 16 months will equip teachers and junior high school students aged 11 to 16 with the skills to be able to navigate through the noise of the digital space, and apply the lessons into their practice and everyday lives.
Speaking at a stakeholder meeting in Accra, Deputy Director General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission, Dr. Ahmed Abdulai Jinapor, said access to the internet and technology and an understanding of how to navigate it has become a critical driving factor of development.
He, however, added that increasingly, young people are leaving education without confidence in the digital space.
“IFC found that over 230 million jobs in Sun-Saharan Africa will require digital skills by 2030 and that nearly 65 per cent of current jobs employers are trying to fill require at least basic digital skills,” he added.
Dr. Jinapor was therefore optimistic that the project would reflect the capacity of the education system and help move from knowledge acquisition to skills acquisition.
Acting Country Director, British Council Ghana and Cameroon, Chikodi Onyemerela, in his remarks said the ongoing pandemic has dealt a huge blow on the education sector with attendant learning losses and learning poverty which are well documented.
“Education establishments across the globe are scampering to cushion the effect of this crisis with deluge of resources hosted online,” he added.
Mr. Onyemerela therefore noted that the project would support higher academic performance and greater employability of young people in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.
“It will enable them to better understand how to use the internet as a learning and research resource, actively engaged in the online space in professional context, improve the quality of their written communication both academically and professional and develop their confidence in their use of digital tools,” Mr. Onyemerela said.
Senior Regional Partnerships Manager, Sub-Saharan Africa, Wikimedia Foundation, Rudolph Ampofo, expressed the organization’s dedication to empowering and engaging people around the world to collect and develop educational content under free license or in the public domain and to disseminate it effectively and globally.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri