Spokesperson for the Education Ministry, Kwasi Kwarteng has stressed that Dr. Bawumia’s ‘1 student 1 tablet’ is a strategy intended to bolster educational delivery and equip Ghanaian students for the challenges of the digital age.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, Mr. Kwarteng disclosed that the goal of the initiative is to boost educational standards to meet the demands of the fourth industrial revolution and to make sure Ghanaian students are ambitious on the global level. He mentioned that digitalization is the new gold and it is changing the narrative by ensuring economic growth and stability with the main focus on education and as such the governments idea of transforming the economy through Dr. Bawumia’s digitalization policies is the right call.
“For some time now, the Ministry of Education has been repositioning Ghana’s education to meet what is happening in this fourth industrial revolution. And it is even more reason why even though the government has promised free SHS education, we have also gone beyond that to introduce STEM which is something that this government never promised.
“But with the fourth industrial revolution, it has become very relevant and we cannot just sweep that under the carpet. The digitization concept is the conversation now, it is the order for the day. All over the world, countries that have been able to use education as the focal point to be able to turn their socio-economic fortunes have been through education.”
He revealed further that Dr. Bawumia’s initiative goes beyond high schools, stretching its reach to include basic education levels through the introduction of smart schools. He emphasized on the fact this will aid in equipping students with enough knowledge, skills and understanding to compete with the advanced countries.
“But not just any other ordinary education but one that is very relevant within the fourth industrial revolution. That is the reason why we have been talking about STEM and digitization. In 2021, no elections were impending but the Ministry of Education as part of the effort to reposition Ghana’s education to meet what is happening in this 21st century, deployed 3500 laptops to teachers, at that time, there was no election in view or campaign.
“But it is the continuation of that process. The effort to position Ghana’s education that is why we are also introducing things like smart schools. That is not even limited to those within the senior high schools. It has even gone beyond that to the basic schools”
