U.S. Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission, Rolf Olson presenting the learning materials to Rev John Ntim Fordjour in Nanton
The Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy, Rolf Olson, has commissioned an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) center in the Nanton District of the Northern Region.
The United States government through the U.S Agency for Development (USAID) provided teaching and learning materials to improve education quality in the region.
The Haira Excellence Academy at Nanton volunteered one of its unused rooms for the establishment of the first of its kind ICT Center in the district which will serve over 1,700 students from six schools.
The teaching and learning materials include English teacher guides, read-aloud compendiums, supplementary readers, student textbooks and workbooks, flash cards, and alphabet charts and cards.
Mr. Olson, at the commissioning ceremony, indicated that USAID provided $70,000 (over one million Ghana Cedis) to print and distribute the materials for 154 low-fee private schools, this year, in 13 districts in the Northern, North East, Upper East and Upper West regions.
“In the past year, we have collaborated with the private sector, government, and the leadership of these schools to improve education quality, increase private sector investment, and ensure teachers receive regular professional development, training, and mentorship. Today’s commissioning and donation are an outcome of these partnerships,” he said
He disclosed that the ICT center and educational material donation form part of the USAID Advancing Partnerships for Improved Learning (APIL) Activity. And that APIL supports more than 200 low-fee private schools to provide quality education for children in underserved communities in northern Ghana.
“We invest in Ghana’s education sector because we believe in its power to open doors. Quality education enhances citizens’ prospects for decent work, income generation, and well-being. For societies, it promotes sustainable economic development, alleviates poverty, stimulates innovation, enhances institutional capacity, and cultivates social unity,” Mr. Olson added.
The US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission, noted that the United States is Ghana’s largest bilateral development partner and in 2023, development support through the US Agency for International Development (USAID totaled over $140 million in education, health, economic growth, agriculture, and more.
Managing Director of IPMC, Gaurav Sharda, revealed that IPMC Ghana donated 21 laptop computers and accessories, and audiovisual literacy instruction materials to the center to enhance ICT learning in schools in the Nanton district.
The Deputy Minister of Education, Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, thanked the US government and IPMC for such a great partnership with the government to transform and improve education in Ghana.
According to him, the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration have been poised to ensuring that they give access to every child in Ghana and dismantle barriers that will hinder pupils from accessing quality education and provide opportunities for life-long learning.
He stated that the government of Ghana has invested over GH¢129 billion into the educational sector.
The proprietor of Haira Excellence Academy, Salifu Abdul Basit, thanked the US government for establishing the center adding that teaching ICT was a challenge due to the lack of ICT faculty in the district.
He, however, expressed optimism that with the establishment of the center, it will improve ICT literacy in the district.
BY Eric Kombat , Nanton