……. A collaborative effort between MoE Ghana, local education partners and Microsoft to drive digital transformation in the country’s education sector and to advance the creation of a knowledge-based economy….
In a move that is set to further encourage and propel digital transformation on the continent, Microsoft in collaboration with eSolutions Consulting – a local Education partner in Ghana, have today donated technological resources to equip a computer lab at Betenase Junior High School, located in Sekyedumase, Ashanti Region, Ghana.
The computer lab donation includes devices for students and lab teacher, furniture – tables and chairs, school uniforms, mathematical sets, device security storage units, 1-year free 3G connectivity, a projector, screen, UPS back up and routers. All devices will also be provided with Office Professional Plus software.
“As a technology brand that is on a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more – Microsoft believes that enablement must start at grassroots level – by way of education. It is the teachers and the work they do through their lessons, that allow for this to happen effectively.” says Warren La Fleur, Education Lead for West East and Central Africa at Microsoft.
“We are extremely impressed by the work educators all over the continent are doing – as economies like Ghana become increasingly digital, technical thinking and understanding technology becomes of supreme importance. Around the world, a key part of Microsoft’s work is concentrated on empowering educators to create environments in and out of the classroom that guide and nurture student passion and enable students to achieve beyond their wildest imagination – making, designing, inventing, building the future”, adds La Fleur.
Teachers not only in Bentase Junior High School but across Ghana will gain access to the Microsoft Certified Educator Program (MCE) for professional development, so that they can nurture their passion for teaching and build rich, custom learning experiences for students. Training such as this is vital in ensuring that educators have the global educator technology literacy competencies needed to provide greater learning experience for students.
Working with Microsoft to provide world class solutions to enable Ghana’s education transformation has been a great opportunity for eSolutions Consulting. As a Business and IT Consultancy company set up in Ghana, we aim to help organizations both in public and private sector to improve their performance through the introduction of innovative solutions. Immersive learning, enabled by technology, improves experiences and education outcomes for teachers and learners, as it shifts behavior, motivation and helps to develop an educated workforce with globally applicable skills and knowledge noted Solomon Adiyiah, Chief Operations Officer, eSolutions Consulting.
Microsoft has also invested in developing over 300 hours’ worth of free courses, where educators are able to participate in training and receive certification. The duration of each course is between 1 and 3 hours. Focuses vary from how to use tools like OneNote, Sway, and Skype, while others are more instruction based, designed to assist them to integrate technology in their course work. This ties together through assessments and a points-based system and teachers in Ghana and worldwide have access to all these learning tools.
The commitment to education will not stop with is donation and certainly goes beyond that of Ghana. Microsoft is in advanced discussions with the Ministry of Education (MoE) in Ghana to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on more collaborative ways of transforming education in Ghana. A key objective of this MoU will be to provide support on teacher development and advancing digital literacy in secondary and post-secondary education.
The agreement establishes a framework for cooperation and is intended to spur successful collaboration to create sustainable, scalable projects and initiatives which will leverage the usage of Microsoft technologies and expertise to facilitate improvements in Quality, Relevance and Access to education in Ghana
To deliver on the stated objectives, MOE and Microsoft have mutually agreed to collaborate and implement learning Innovation and Skills Development including:
- Collaborate to integrate ICT in education at all Levels, Primary, Secondary and post-Secondary
- Advancing Youth Employability through implementation of modern learning platforms, facilitation of work experience and/or internship programs;
- Provide technical and policy guidance to the Ministries of Education and academic institutions to support the transformation of teaching and learning and better prepare students for the 21st century job market
This agreement will enable Ghana to achieve its vison to provide relevant education at all levels and enable citizens acquire the latest skills that will assist them to develop their potential, be productive and promote a technology culture. We also anticipate that this plan will facilitate poverty reduction, promote socio-economic growth and national development.
