Christabel DANSO ABEAM
The Institute of ICT Professionals Ghana (IIPGH), in partnership with Swisscontact has unveiled a coding club at the Gbegbeshi Basic School in the Ablekuma West Municipal Assembly, Accra.
The move aims to equip young students with digital skills necessary for modern activities in the technological space.
This action aligns with the country’s current focus on advancing science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education nationwide.
The coding club was developed from the ‘Coding for Kids’ project which started in 2018, and transitioned into a caravan where IIPGH and its partners moved to underserved and unserved communities to give children the privilege to be equip with knowledge in technology.
According to Richard Kafui Amanfu, Director of Operations – IIPGH, the initiative is part of IIPGH’s pursuit to nurture and expose children and young adults to technology education, especially within underserved communities.
He explained that each training session will be guided by trained instructors who will provide hands-on assistance.
“Designed for primary and junior high school students, the coding club will offer weekly sessions where students will be taught important programming skills, including JavaScript, Hypertext markup language (HTML), Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), Java, among others,” he noted.
He further underscored the importance of early access to technology skills. “The world is developing rapidly in terms of technology and digitalisation; therefore, the need to equip from the basics, so that our children do not become ‘square pegs in round holes”.
Mr. Amanfu also added that this initiative would encourage children to develop interest in specific Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) programmes they would like to pursue in future and added that the club will inspire critical thinking, problem-solving and creativity.
The coding club will be extended gradually to other basic and JHS in Accra and also extended to other regions.
For the sustainability of the initiative, Mr. Amanfu called on all stakeholders to offer every necessary support to his team.
The Deputy Municipal Director of Education – Ablekuma West Municipal Assembly, Ali Abdullah, also commended IIPGH and all stakeholders for the developmental step taken and encouraged students to take advantage of the opportunity given.
He further highlighted the importance of knowledge development in technology for children, and called on parents to encourage the participation of their children.
Mr. Abdullah expressed optimism for a great outcome from the initiative and pledged continuous supervision from his office in order to achieve utmost positive results.
