By Prince Acquah
Ajumako (C/R), Jan 31, GNA – The Ajumako Eshiem District Assembly Basic School in the Central Region has taken delivery of a GHS4,100 multipurpose printer, three computers and a power stabiliser to aid teaching and learning of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
The cost of the items, totalling GHS7,050, were donated by the Concerned Youth of Eshiem, comprising past students and indigenes, to fulfil the school’s quest for an ultramodern computer laboratory.
In October, last year, through the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), the school appealed for a computer laboratory to enhance academic activities in ICT.
For many of the schoolchildren, the ICT teacher’s laptop they see during lesson hours was the closest they had come to a computer.
Mr Isaac Kweku Esuon, the Chairman of the PTA, told the Ghana News Agency that about 520 pupils learned the practical subject abstractly and were compelled to imagine majority of the things they were taught.
He said the lab would offer hands-on training and hone the digital skills of the pupils to prepare them for the future “in the spirit of the national and global digital agenda.”
Mr Maxwell Affenyi, a former teacher at the school and leader of the youth group, who presented the items, said they would help the development and welfare of the school.
He observed that the printing of examination papers, for instance, was mostly the burden of the teachers, as the school lacked such equipment.
“The school is not allowed to take printing fees from parents or pupils to print examination papers and yet money does not come from any quarters for that purpose. This means that the money must come from the teachers who are already struggling,” he said.
“And so, this multipurpose printer will do our children and the teachers a lot of good,” he added.
Mr Affenyi, however, said the school needed more support and called on the public to assist.
“As we can all see, three computers are woefully inadequate for the entire school to manage. We need to buy more, and more importantly, we need a computer laboratory for the school,” he said.
Madam Linda Sam, the Assistant Headteacher, who received the items, expressed gratitude to the group for improving on the welfare of the children.
“You do not find this in many places. We are immensely grateful for the show of love and care. May God bless everyone who was involved in this wonderful project.”
She pledged the school’s commitment to taking good care of the devices to ensure they served the purpose for which they were procured.
GNA