Hundred Junior High School (JHS) students mostly females in the Antwima Nwanbigaya Municipal in the Ashanti Region have received training in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as part of measures by the government to bridge the gender gap in technology.

"The Ministry of Communication, in collaboration with the Ghana Information Fund for Electronic Communication (GIFEC) and the [local] Assembly organized the Girls-in-ICT initiative training program", Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Hon. Michael Awuku Amoah revealed.

"The objective was to increase the interest of girls in ICT, bridge the gender gap usage and to enhance the advancement of girls in ICT through coding and website development", the MCE told townsfolk during town hall meeting attended by chiefs and residents.

According to Hon. Michael Awuku Amoah, prior to the Training, the Assembly renovated an old building in the area to enable philanthropists and the government to supply computers to train more youth in ICT.

According to reports, only four out of 27 community ICT centres in the region set up in by the government are functional; Nkawie, Bekwai, Kodie and Nkwanta Kese are priestly fully in operation

Communications Minister, Hon. Ursula Owusu Ekuful, at a recent tour in the some rural communities in the region is unhappy about the level of neglect and deterioration of ICT centres there.

“Nothing works here. The Ministry will build it and provide the equipment but it is the duty of the Assemblies to maintain them. Our children need these centres and we cannot continue like this,” the Minister fumed.

She indicates the Ministry will consider handing over the facilities to NGOs and other partners for proper management.

“We are taking over all those properties, renovating them and making them available for all our children. The Assemblies have proved to us they cannot [handle them]."