The Secretary-General of the Ghana Commission for UNESCO, Ama Serwah Nerquaye-Tetteh, is calling for equal access to digital tools and technology-infused learning by all pupils in the country.
She made the call on the EdTech Monday segment of the Citi Breakfast Show.
She noted that considering the importance of digital skills and technology to education, it is critical that both pupils in public and private schools get the opportunity to be introduced to it.
“While that document [Early childhood education policy framework] acknowledges that it is important for us to have every child to have digital education from the onset, it is a framework, so it falls short of showing how it should be done,” she said.
She added that “it is important to have every child, irrespective of their background need to have digital education from the onset.”
Ama Serwah Nerquaye-Tetteh said given the limitations in ensuring universal access to technology in education, especially in public schools, efforts must be made to get teachers equipped with the skills to use these technologies so that they can in turn demonstrate them to pupils in the class.
“We are aware of our limitations. It may not be feasible to hand every child a device, but we are looking at educational technology for a child, and the easiest means will be the use of educational technologies by teachers in their research looking for videos that can be shown to these young people, songs to teach them that can help their pedagogical growth.”
She further advised that pupils should be introduced to technology in education from as young as two years old to ensure that they are able to grow into globally competitive individuals.
EdTech Monday is a platform for EdTech Entrepreneurs, Education stakeholders, and Government representatives to facilitate critical conversations on the use of technology for teaching and learning.
The show is an initiative of the Mastercard Foundation’s Regional Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning in ICT, and part of the Foundation’s strategy to find solutions to Africa’s youth employment by closing the gap in access to quality education, and advancing the integration of technology in education policies and practices across Africa.
EdTech Monday is handled on behalf of the Mastercard Foundation by MEST.
About MEST
MEST offers Africa-wide technology entrepreneur training, internal seed funding, and a network of hubs providing incubation for technology startups in Africa.
Founded in Ghana in 2008, MEST provides critical skills training, funding, and support in software development, business, and communications to Africa’s tech entrepreneurs. Hubs are located in Accra, Ghana; Lagos, Nigeria; Cape Town, South Africa; and Nairobi, Kenya.
To date, MEST has trained over 500 entrepreneurs from across the continent and invested in over 80 startups across industries from SaaS and consumer internet, to eCommerce, Digital Media, Agritech, Fintech and Healthcare IT.
MEST is primarily funded by the Meltwater Foundation, the non-profit arm of Meltwater, a global leader in media intelligence and Outside Insight.
