Accra, Jan.14,GNA-Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia has thrown his support behind the University of Ghana Business School’s “One-Student,One-Laptop” initiative and promised 100 laptop computers to support the programme.
“I am proud of the University of Ghana Business School for this initiative of soliciting support from private and public firms to support students who may not be able to afford laptops on their own, “the Vice President stated.
Addressing students and lecturers at the School’s Laptop Awards ceremony in Accra, Dr Bawumia reiterated the Government’s commitment to achieving the United Nations Development Goal 4, which entailed ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.
A total of 40 laptops were given to students who excelled in an essay competition organised by the School.
The overall objective of the “One-Student, One-Laptop” initiative was to ensure that every student at the University had a laptop.
Vice President Bawumia was delighted by the efforts being made by the University to modernise its teaching and learning environment, saying that it was essential for keeping pace with global trends and remaining relevant and competitive in the academic arena.
He underlined the need for the University to enhance the use of technology to improve teaching and learning outcomes for both lecturers and students in the era of COVID-19 pandemic.
“The digital revolution is youth-driven therefore any initiative that would equip the youth to be functional in this revolution and push the nation forward in technology and innovation was commendable,” the Vice President emphasised.
He encouraged other corporate entities to join hands with government to bring digital inclusion agenda to fruition and thus, encouraged the University’s alumni to support the laudable initiative.
Dr Bawumia highlighted some of the initiatives the Government had implemented in the educational sector including Free SHS/TVET policy, One-Teacher,One-Laptop and completion of infrastructure to provide free Wifi to 722 senior high schools, 46 Colleges of Education,260 district education offices and an initial pilot in 13 public universities.
Vice President Bawumia said: “Access to computers is now a basic requirement for both students and lecturers in the 21st century, which is why the University’s efforts to support your students to acquire laptops is so commendable”.
“I am aware that the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nana Ama Appiah Amfo, has initiated plans for a one-student one-laptop programme, and I hear it is already so popular that the staff and faculty are lobbying hard for it to be expanded to include one-staff one-laptop and one-lecturer one-laptop components. This is exactly the way to go!
The Vice President was delighted that the University was undertaking a classroom modernization project, which would upgrade lecture rooms with modern pedagogical facilities and strengthen the existing learning management systems (LMS).
“Government is glad to throw its support behind these initiatives, and I call on corporate bodies to come on board and support these laudable efforts by the Vice-Chancellor, to situate the University among the elite institutions in Africa and globally,” he added.
“The Pro Vice-Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs, Professor Gordon Awandare has also discussed with me about the University’s need to digitalize and decentralize all its academic management and student support systems.
“This is critical to go with the ongoing modernization of teaching and learning facilities, so that the entire student experience in the University is enhanced.
“I can assure you that I and my office will support the university to undertake a comprehensive digitalization of all its processes this year.
“We will provide the necessary support to the Pro Vice-Chancellor’s team to mobilize the expertise and resources for complete digitalization at the University of Ghana.
“It is my hope that when this is successfully implemented, it would serve as a model to scale up to other universities in the country,” Dr Bawumia assured.
GNA