The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has announced that government will distribute free electronic tablets to all Senior High School (SHS) students across the country.
Dr. Bawumia says the move forms part of government’s digitization agenda and added that the tablets will serve as alternative textbooks for the students.
The Vice President made these comments at this year’s New Year School at the University of Ghana, Legon.
“This year, we are on course to provide all Senior High School students in Ghana with tablets which are loaded with textbooks on them for their studies”.
According to the vice president, “this game-changing development” is aimed at providing students with the relevant and necessary materials for their studies.
Dr. Bawumia also added that the tablets will have past questions preloaded on them before distribution.
Government in the past announced its partnership with publishers in the country to roll out the initiative.
There are also plans to make free internet access to Senior High Schools and Tertiary institutions to improve teaching and learning.
Government said it has already awarded the contract for the first batch of Wi-Fi installations to begin in some second cycle and tertiary institutions as part of the project.
Meanwhile, in 2020 the ministry of education and leadership of three teacher Unions with a membership strength of 350,000 sought funding support from government through the ministry of education for the procurement and distribution of 350,000 laptop computers to its members.
In 2021 the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia launched and handed over 350,000 laptops under the ‘One Teacher One Laptop’ programme in fulfilment of government’s pledge to equip Ghana’s teachers with the requisite ICT skills to prepare the next generation for the Fourth Industrial revolution.
Under the initiative, Government was to provide every teacher in Ghana, from Kindergarten to the Senior High School level, with a laptop preloaded with educational materials and with access to an E-Library equipped with books recommended by the GES on the various subjects.
The materials were expected to be accessed whether online or offline and with free Wi-Fi available in 722 Senior High Schools across the country.
The deal also mentioned that the State would take up 70% of the cost of the laptop, while the teacher makes up 30% difference.
The laptop, however, becomes the personal property of the teacher and serves the benefit of providing a tool for developing the teacher’s professional and personal capacity.
However, in December 2021, some aggrieved teachers accused the Education Ministry, Ghana Education Service (GES) and some teacher unions of conniving to illegally use their monies to purchase laptops for them.
According to them, there were procurement breaches in sole-sourcing the ‘One Teacher, One Laptop’ contract to K.A. Technologies Limited.
Despite the controversies the “One teacher one laptop” came with, the government has promised “One SHS student one tablet”.
