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Ursula Owusu-Ekuful inaugurates ICT laboratory for Sefwi Wiawso SHS
The Minister of Communications and Digitilisation,Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful,has inaugurated a fully-furnished Information and Communication Technology (ICT) laboratory for the Sefwi-Wiawso Senior High School in the Western North Region.
The laboratory, which has 40 new desktop computers with accessories, was funded by the Ghana Investment for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) and would provide ICT opportunities to schools, as part of the efforts to bridge digital gap in the country.
In her address last Friday, Mrs Owusu-Ekuful expressed government’s commitment to equip young people with skills they needed to succeed in life.
She noted that the current technological revolution emphasised the critical role technology played in the digital world, hence the need for everybody to be ICT literate.
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful commended Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, the Member of Parliament for Sefwi Wiawso and other prominent indigenes, for the role they played to make the project a reality.
She again advised the students to use the laboratory profitably, especially for research and be abreast current technological advancements.
“The government is committed to provide students with the right skills, devices and training to compete favourably with their peers in other countries.” the minister assured.
The Administrator of GIFEC,MrPrince Ofosu Sefah, spoke about the significant role of ICT in development and commended President Nana Akufo-Addo for ensuring that school children acquired the relevant skills to make them functional in the society
GIFEC,he added, was facilitating teaching and learning of ICT in Basic and Senior High Schools through the deployment of ICT equipment and internet facilities.
“We are doing this with the school connectivity project, through which desktops, printers and scanners are being provided for over 1,020 schools across the country.” he said.
Mr Sefah said 26 Basic and Senior High schools had benefited from the project in the Western North Region while more than 7,000 people, including teachers, students, artisans, head porters and identifiable women groups had also been trained in basic ICT skills in the region.
The Assistant Headmaster of the school,Mr Benjamin Ballow, reported that the school offered ICT as an elective subject and believedthe ICT facility would help in teaching and learning.
He called on other organisations to assist the school which was established in 1961 and now had a student population of 1,877, with 79 teaching and 39 non-teaching staff.
Mr Balloe expressed gratitude to the government and prayed it continued to assist the school to cater for the increasing enrolment due to the Free Senior High School Policy.
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful had inspected works on the Government of Ghana Funded Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion Project, at Abrabra and Nkyonya, as part of her tour of GIFEC project sites in the Sefwi Wiawso Municipality of the Western North Region.
She inaugurated a Rural Telephony Project site at Mile 3, in the same district.
The Rural Telephony Project is implemented by GIFEC in partnership with Huawei and Mobile Network Operators ((MNOs) through a Tripartite Partnership Arrangement, which offers a significant reduction in Cost of Ownership and Maintenance by as much as 70 per cent.
The project seeks to provide telecommunications infrastructure and service to communities where MNOs are unable to deploy due to economic or other constraints.
During a courtesy call on the Paramount Chief Of Sefwi Wiawso Okatakyie Kwesi Bumagama II, the minister indicated that her tourof Western North, was to get a first- hand information on the Ghana Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion project and visit also the training centres of the Girls-in-ICT project.
The Girls in ICT programme, she mentioned, had benefitted 900 girls in the region and 100 from Prestea- Huni Valley in the Western Region.
She said : “The ministry aims at expanding the rural telephony project to the various underserved communities.We will ensure that rural areas without networks are connected. Without network, one cannot takepart in the digital activities.”
Accompanying the Minister were the Chief Director, Mrs. Magdalene Apenteng, Director, Research Statistics and Information Management (RSIM), Mr. Alfred Nortey; Mr Prince Sefa, Administrator, GIFEC; Ms Eva Andoh-Opoku, Deputy Administrator, GIFEC and the Municipal Chief Executive of Sefwi Wiawso , Hon. Lewis Owusu Agyapong.
From Clement Adze Boye, Sefwi Wiawso
Mrs Patience Antonio, a Child and Family Development Advocate, has called for a national campaign to reduce the growing reliance on breast milk substitutes among nursing mothers in Ghana.
According to Mrs Antonio, scientific evidence shows that breastfeeding improves a child’s emotional stability, boosts intelligence, strengthens the immune system, and provides long-term health benefits. She made these remarks in an interview with The Spectator in Accra last week, emphasizing the importance of breastfeeding for a child’s overall development.
She explained that breastfeeding is not just a biological act of feeding but a key emotional and developmental bridge between mother and child. She also highlighted the need for the recommended six-month maternity leave period to ease the pressure on mothers to return to work prematurely.
“Breastfeeding creates intimacy and trust. It assures the baby of love and security, which becomes the foundation for their emotional health,” Mrs Antonio noted, warning that abandoning exclusive breastfeeding could have long-term implications on children’s social and emotional wellbeing.
Consequently, she called for a minimum of five months of fully paid maternity leave for Ghanaian mothers to enable effective breastfeeding, bonding, and healthier child development. She also urged workplaces to implement family-friendly policies, including private spaces for breastfeeding, flexible working arrangements for nursing mothers, and stronger support systems for new parents.
Mrs Antonio further encouraged families and society to actively support mothers during breastfeeding, stressing that many women struggle due to lack of assistance at home or the pressure to return to work too soon. She emphasized, “If we want a healthier, emotionally stable generation, then we must make breastfeeding a priority and support mothers to do it without stress.”
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
Spectator
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The Nanvili Community School in the Mion District of the Northern Region is facing severe infrastructural challenges, affecting teaching and learning for pupils in the area.
The school, which serves five surrounding communities with a total of 58 pupils, has deteriorated to the extent that many children have stopped attending classes. Poor classroom conditions and the lack of desks have made teaching and learning difficult. During a visit to the school, the gate-free classrooms were found filled with goat and sheep droppings.
During the rainy season, both teachers and pupils are often cut off from the school due to bad roads and flooding. Teaching activities are frequently suspended for weeks, negatively affecting academic performance.
The Assemblyman for the area, Mr. Dawuni Mutawakil, expressed concern, noting that the situation is worrying since these pupils are expected to compete with their counterparts in urban areas who have access to better facilities. He added that due to limited space, classes have been merged, with pupils from Primary One and Two, Three and Four, and Five and Six sharing the same classrooms.
The Chief of Nanvili, Abu Kassim, also appealed to the government and non-governmental organisations to come to the aid of the community. He emphasized that the current state of the school discourages children from nearby communities from attending.
Both the Chief and Assemblyman have called for urgent intervention to improve infrastructure and provide furniture for the pupils to ensure quality education for children in the Nanvili area.
By Geoffrey Buta, Nanvili, Northern Region
Spectator
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