Wa, Sept. 23, GNA - The Ministry of Education in conjunction with th= e Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology and rlg Communications will train 4,500 teachers nationwide to use Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to enhance their careers. The first batch of 310 teachers have already benefited from the training out of which 25 of them who are based in the Upper West Region wer= e presented with their certificates at a symbolic ceremony at Wa on Thursday. They had one-week intensive hands-on practical training and experience with ICT devices and applications.

Mr. Paul Akonnor, Group Head of Information Technology of rlg Communications, noted that ICT was driving global development as it was changing the way mankind lived, worked and did business. Teachers as pivot of development who played a great role in the upbringing of children therefore needed to be taught to understand ICT so a= s to impart it to their pupils. rlg Communications which is a major private sector partner of the Government also presented 15 laptops to the Lawra Senior High School as its share of the 1,500 laptops under the Mathematics, Science and Technology Scholarship (MASTERS) programme initiated by the MEST. To underscore the practical implementation and progress of the Better Ghana ICT project, he said 1,500 laptops were being distributed to selected basic and second cycle schools throughout the country under the Better Ghan= a ICT project.

Alhaji Issaka Saliah, Upper West Regional Minister, urged students to use the computers for activities that would improve their lives by exhibiting the benefits of the usage for others to emulate. He called on all beneficiary schools to take good care of the computer= s so that the company would be encouraged to assist other schools with ICT facilities. Mohammed Alhassan Shaban, a course participant, thanked rlg Communications for organizing the training for them saying, it was crucial that every teacher learnt ICT in a modern society.