General News of Tuesday, 4 June 2024

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Ministry of Education considering terminating aspects of 'Wi-Fi for Schools' programme contract

Yaw Osei Adutwum, Minister for Education Yaw Osei Adutwum, Minister for Education

The Spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, Kwasi Kwarteng, has said the ministry is considering terminating certain aspects of the “Wi-Fi for Schools” programme contract.

This aligns with the government’s education transformation agenda which the Ministry of Education launched in 2019 to boost internet connectivity in educational institutions.

The program extended internet access to senior high schools, colleges of education, and regional and district education offices nationwide.

However, recent media reports suggest that service failures have led to the misuse of public funds within the “Wi-Fi for Schools” programme contract.

Despite these reports, the Ministry of Education highlighted that it has continued to employ various monitoring mechanisms, including reporting lines from ICT coordinators in schools, Wi-Fi monitoring tools, and a network operating room.

“These measures aim to ensure timely detection and resolution of connectivity issues in institutions nationwide,” the statement said.

The ministry, upon evaluation, is considering terminating aspects of the contract in schools experiencing satellite connectivity challenges.

This situation has been attributed to Lifted Logistics Ltd (formerly Busy Internet) failing to pay its providers.

The ministry emphasized its commitment to ensuring value for money in all its initiatives and reassured the public of the government’s dedication to improving education to achieve socioeconomic transformation.

In August 2019, the Ministry of Education engaged Busy Internet Ghana Limited to provide Wi-Fi in 717 senior high schools at a cost of nearly GH¢60 million.

This covered the supply, installation, and maintenance of hardware devices.

Read the full statement below:





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