Regional News of Thursday, 23 December 2004

Source: GNA

EU, Ghana Office donates computers and photocopiers for use in schools

Accra, Dec. 23, GNA - Mrs Dorthe Wacker, Head of the Second Section of Governance, Civil Society and Culture of the European Union, Ghana Office on Thursday donated 11 used computers and two photocopiers to the Ministry of Education Youth and Sports for use in deprived schools that did not have access to computers.

She said the Office had received new computers and felt the need to give the old ones to the Ministry in support of its efforts towards making information Communication Technology (ICT) in education a reality in disadvantaged schools.

Mrs Wacker said the hard disks were removed and the schools would have to replace them.

She expressed the hope that the school pupils, who would use the computers, would enjoy the facility.

The Rev Emmanuel Kingsley Adadebo, Coordinator, ICT in Education Programmes, who received the items, said there were many children in some remote areas that were very eager to see how a computer was like. He said the ministry was committed to revamping the education system using ICT.

He appealed to other institutions, organisations like the Parent Teacher Associations and others concerned about raising the educational standards of pupils to help the Ministry to realise its objective in the Ghana E-Schools Initiative.

"This would answer the cry of many school children waiting to have access to the computer, adding that there was a big store of knowledge in the computer which many students do not have access to." He said the use of the computers in the schools would help to bridge the knowledge gap between the deprived schools and well-endowed schools.