The National Girls in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) initiative has come to an end in the northern sector, with about 1000 basic school girls receiving first-hand experience on how to use the computer.
The programme provided the platform to equip girls between the ages of 9 and 15 years – Upper Primary to Junior High School (JHS) – with knowledge and skills in basic ICT and coding.
The beneficiaries were from sixteen metropolitan municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) including Mion, Tolon, Kumbungu, Savelugu, Tamale, Nanton, Sagnarigu and Kpandai.
The others are Gushegu, Tatali, Karaga, Nanumba South, Nanumba North, Yendi, Saboba and Zabzugu.
The girls received lessons in coding, cyber-security and website development, among others. Mentorship sessions were also held whereby women with careers in the ICT field shared their personal and professional experiences with the girls to encourage and guide them in their future careers and endeavours.
The initiative, which was championed by the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation with support from the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) as the technical resource provider as well as training by the Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence (KACE), commenced in the Northern Region on July 17, 2023, with the ‘training of trainers’ session.
The teachers in this category, mainly basic school tutors, were resourced with tools and skills for effective teaching of the course, especially in areas such as fundamentals of ICT, scratch programming (Coding), cyber-security, gaming, website development and project presentation, to enable the teachers to continue the work of assisting and encouraging the girls to pursue ICT careers later in life.
Minister for Communication Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, in her remarks at the climax in Tamale, commended teachers and parents for their commitment toward training the young girls in ICT for national development.
“I am very much satisfied with the training within the few days because during my monitoring tour, I observed that the girls had acquired some basic skills in computer usage and were ready to learn more.
In an effort to whip the interest of girls in ICT, the government – through the ministry in collaboration with some agencies – has developed some programmes such as Girls-In-ICT, ICT laboratories for SHS, e-Transform Rural Telephony, and Digital Inclusion projects to ensure that all girls, irrespective of the region, benefit from the programme,” she said.
Additionally, she said the government remains committed to enhancing the use of technology among young girls and women to bridge the gender gap in the country.
She urged the beneficiaries to serve as ambassadors of ICT in the respective communities to achieve the set goals of establishing the programmes.
The programme climaxed in the region with a quiz competition that saw 14-year-old JHS-two pupil of St. Paul’s R/C in Tamale Metropolitan, Christiana Awenli Awea, emerging as the winner with a 100-percentage score.
The second position went to Amanda Daal from Kpandai Girls’ Model JHS, with a 99-percentage score while Husinatu Nasara Mohammed took the third position. They were all presented with plaques, certificates and laptops.
They also received cash prices of GH₵3,000, GH₵2,500 and GH₵2,000 respectively, and have been crowned as ICT ambassadors for the Northern Region.
