Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) as part of its efforts to enhance Information Communication and Technology (ICT) teaching and learning in some schools in Ghana, has equipped the Ezilinbo M/A Junior High School in the Jomoro Municipality of the Western Region with computers and accessories.

The ICT device which has a high propensity in making life more meaningful through teaching and learning in its usage has become part of Ghana Education Service curricula subjects at the BECE, level in Ghana.

During the presentation over the weekend, the Project Manager of GIFEC in Western Region, Selorm Dzokoto thanked the school authority and the community to put up an ultramodern ICT centre for the computers and their accessories to be kept in.

According to him, GIFEC is using its Smart Communities Project to bridge the internet gap between peri-urban and urban areas to position Ghana as an IT-driven country.

The Smart Communities project, which is being piloted in Brong Ahafo and the Western Regions, is providing Wi-Fi in public establishments such as schools, hospitals, banks, police stations, marketplaces, schools and among others.

He presented twenty (20) desktop computers with 20 U.P.S, hp M402dne printer and 20 ICT cassettes for teaching and learning.

He revealed that it was through the effort of the former Chief of Defence Staff in the erstwhile late President John Evans Atta Mills government and immediate Ghana's Ambassador to La Coté d'Ivoire, General Ambassador Peter Augustine Blay that the GIFEC brought the computers and accessories to the school.

He said that General Augustine Blay since he loves his own town, Ezilinbo, he lobbied hard before getting this equipment.

He called on the people of the community to thank General Blay for his lobbying skills.

"General Blay wrote to us several times and per his good lobbying skills, he won our hearts and that is why today we have brought you this equipment, pray for him to live long", he emphasized.

He, therefore, urged the school authority and community to put the computers and its accessories to good use to enable the community benefit from the investment made.

"Our monitoring and evaluation team will continue to knock on your doors to ensure that you put the computers and its accessories to good use. Maintenance should be a cardinal principle that must be embedded in the management of the computers and its accessories presented", he cautioned.

On his part, the Headmaster of the school, Mr James Nyameke commended GIFEC for the kind gesture.

He also thanked the former CDS for also lobbying hard to get the school ICT centre with computers and accessories of which the centre was lacking.

He, however, appealed to GIFEC and other benevolent organizations to help them with a projector.

The S.M.C Chairman of the school, Mr Edmonton Homeah cautioned the staff to manage the facility and the equipment with care and make sure the equipment last longer.

He urged the pupils to use the facility to learn hard and advised them to avoid going out in the night to engage in unproductive things.

He encouraged them to emulate the good lifestyle of the former CDS who is a native of the community as their role model and become great personalities in future and develop the community.

The Tufuhene of the area, Tufuhene Boavo also applauded GIFEC for the love they have shown to the school and pleaded with GIFEC to add more computers to the school since the centre is big to contain more than 20 desktop computers.

"We are appealing to GIFEC and government to add more computers to the one that has been provided and as Oliver Twist will say,  we want more", he appealed.

The Assembly Member of the area, Hon. Emmanuel Aasuachie-Erzoah was popularly known as Emmansco also expressed his profound appreciation to GIFEC and the former CDS for providing the school with computers and accessories to enhance effective teaching and learning in ICT.

He appealed to the school authority to provide enough security to guide the facility and its equipment.

He used the opportunity to admonish parents in the area as a matter of prime concerned to invest massively towards their children education.

He advised the parents to do away with petty politics that would not bring any development to the area.

Speaking on the behalf of the pupils, the girl's Senior Prefect of the school, Elizabeth Braimah Fatima thanked GIFFEC and the lobbyist for the kind gesture of providing them with computers and accessories.

She promised to make good use of the facility and its equipment and also learn hard to pass well in the upcoming BECE

She was overjoyed by the development saying the days of very bad results in the BECE so far as ICT goes will soon be a thing of the past and also advised her juniors to make good use of it.

"We are now happy to have computers to do our practicals and going to write this year's BECE and come out with flying colours and we also thank the former CDS, General Augustine Blay for fighting for us to get these computers, we are most grateful for the kind gesture", she excited.

Speaking to GhanaWeb's Western Regional Correspondent after the ceremony, Mr Nyameke Kodwo, the Assistant Headmaster of the school, noted that pupils will now be familiar with technology and indicated that the facility and computers will improve their performance in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

He advised the pupils to take their studies seriously and utilize the computers.

He, therefore, promised to handle the facility and equipment with care.

He urged parents to instil discipline in their wards. He also appealed to parents to pay keen attention to their kids and stop them from patronizing nightclubs for entertainment to bring their educational career to an end.

He also promised to provide enough security to protect the facility and used the occasion to thank the former CDS, General Augustine Blay for championing this cause.