By Solomon Gumah
Tamale, Aug. 11, GNA – HORLAP Company Limited, an indigenous technology company, has refurbished an Information and Communication Technology laboratory of the Tamale Girls’ Senior High School (SHS) to enhance digital learning and equip students with skills in emerging technologies.
The refurbished facility is expected to provide the students with improved access to technology and create an enabling environment for them to explore areas including artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, software development, cybersecurity, and automation.
The intervention was undertaken in partnership with Mr Haruna Iddrisu, Member of Parliament for Tamale South Constituency and Minister for Education.
Mr Kelvin Oduro Aboagye, Chief Executive Officer of HORLAP Company Limited, speaking during the handing over of the facility to authorities of the school in Tamale, said the project went beyond the provision of physical infrastructure and represented an investment in the future of the students and Ghana’s technological development.
He said technology was transforming almost every aspect of society, including the way people worked, communicated, conducted businesses, and solved problems.
Mr Aboagye said Ghana must move beyond merely consuming emerging technologies and focus on preparing young people to become creators, innovators, and problem-solvers in the technology space.
He urged the students not to regard the computers in the laboratory merely as tools for typing, browsing the internet or completing assignments but as platforms that could help them create solutions and shape their future.
He encouraged them to learn coding, website and application development, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, robotics, and engineering, stressing that they could begin their technological journeys right from Tamale.
He said “Technology has no gender. Don’t allow anyone to make you believe that technology, engineering, robotics, or artificial intelligence is only for men.”
Mr Aboagye challenged the students to remain curious, ask questions, experiment with new ideas, and identify challenges within their communities that could be addressed through technology.
He expressed the hope that the intervention would inspire some of the students to become software engineers, AI researchers, robotics engineers and technology entrepreneurs, whose innovations would contribute to Ghana’s development and make an impact across Africa and beyond.
Mrs Aisha Asumah, Headmistress of Tamale Girls SHS, expressed appreciation to HORLAP Company Limited, the Education Minister and other stakeholders for supporting the school with the refurbished facility.
She described the laboratory as an investment for the future of the students and urged them to make good use of it to acquire the knowledge and skills required to excel in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
Mrs Asumah assured the partners that the school would maintain the facility and ensure that it was used for its intended purpose, adding its sustainability required the collective commitment of management, teachers, and students.
She appealed for additional support to address other pressing challenges confronting the school including inadequate furniture for students and staff, shortage of beds, and the deteriorating condition of some school buildings.
She said some of the buildings had developed structural and maintenance defects due to age and continuous use including leaking roofs, broken louvres, damaged blades and mosquito nets, cracked walls and other defects requiring rehabilitation.
Mrs Asumah also appealed to the Education Minister to facilitate the implementation of the school’s proposed smart classroom project to enable the students to acquire the technological skills required for the 21st century.
She said transportation remained another major challenge and appealed for a pickup vehicle and a bus to support academic activities and facilitate the safe movement of students and staff.
She appealed to the Minister to support the school’s 25th anniversary legacy project through the District Assemblies Common Fund or personal support, and to facilitate efforts to transform the school into a model institution.
She said the school also needed improvements to its drainage system and internal roads, noting that addressing those challenges would create a more conducive environment for teaching and learning.
Mrs Asumah said the school’s classroom and dormitory facilities were inadequate and that expansion was necessary if the institution was to effectively transition to a single-track system and explained that the school required an 80-unit classroom block and a 30-unit dormitory block to address its current accommodation constraints.
GNA
Edited by Eric K Amoh/Linda Asante Agyei
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