N/R: ICT NOT THE SOLE PRESERVE OF BOYS, JOIN THE FIELD – URSULA OWUSU ENCOURAGES YOUNG GIRLS
The Minister for Communication and Digitalization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has persuaded young girls in the Northern Region to embrace ICT education to secure a better future in a technological world.
She motivated the girls to dismiss the notion that learning of ICT was the sole preserve of boys by showing interest in the learning of Information Technology.
Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful said these when she toured some selected centers for the training of ‘Girls in ICT’ in the region where about 1000 young girls are undergoing training in ICT programming and coding among others.
She commenced the five-day working tour of the Northern Region on Friday, July 28, 2023, where she visited the Tamale CIC, Sagnarigu CIC, and Jisonaayili JHS training centers and interacted with the girls being trained in basic ICT knowledge.
Addressing the media, Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful expressed gratitude with the quality of work done by the facilitators and how the young girls are grasping what they are being taught by the day.
“I’ve been very impressed with the quality of instructions that they’ve received from their facilitators and how they have also applied themselves to the knowledge that they’ve received.”
Touching on the sustainability of the ‘Girls in ICT program’, Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful said “We have trained 100 teachers as trainers from various institutions so that they train 1,000 girls from all the Districts in the Northern Region For them to continue to impact that knowledge to their schools where they come from. They will be given access to online resources and the best ten girls will have computer laboratories built in their schools.”
She added that “Where Internet connectivity doesn’t exist, we are sending connectivity through the Rural Telephony Project so that they can also connect and take advantage of the vast resources that are available both online and offline.”
As part of the activities of the program, some female achievers were brought together to mentor the young girls by way of sharing their experiences with them to motivate them achieve greater heights in life.
On his part, the Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Shani Saibu expressed satisfaction in the initiative by the Communications Ministry for more girls to be trained in ICT in the Region.
‘The Girls in ICT Program’ was introduced in 2017 and implemented by the Ministry of Communications and digitalization with support from Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), International Telecommunications Union National Communications Authority (NCA), MTN among others to empower and encourage girls and young women to acquire digital skills and consider studies and careers in the growing field of ICT.
By: Suhuyini Shaharan