Sixty-five teachers from seven basic schools in AngloGold Ashanti Iduapriem (AAI) Gold mine host communities have received training in Information Communication Technology (ICT).

The programme was sponsored by AAI Community Trust Fund at a total cost of GHc 152,626.00.

Some of the beneficiary schools include Abompuniso, Adieyie, Wangarakrom, Teberebie, New Techiman Early Childhood Development Center, Bankyim and Akyempim Junior High Schools.

The Gold mining company indicated that the training has been necessitated following an assessment of a basic education improvement project which was being jointly implemented by the Mine, the Municipal Education Directorate and Community Schools to improve upon the teaching and learning of ICT in schools.

The assessment revealed that most schools have problems in the teaching and learning of ICT and this has negatively affected the targets set to contribute towards attainment of the basic education improvement project goal.

In 2017, only 39.6 % of the pupils who sat for the Basic Education Certificate Examination in the mines community had grade 4-5 in ICT which was abysmal.

It was based on this that the Iduapriem Community Trust Fund collaborated with the Municipal Education Directorate to put together this intervention to train teachers in teaching ICT and also distribute 55 desktop computers to schools that lacked such facilities.

Addressing participants at the opening ceremony, Senior Manager of Sustainability, Mr Emmanuel Baidoo, reaffirmed the mines commitment towards improving quality education and challenged the teachers present to fully utilize the knowledge gained in teaching ICT effectively in the schools.

“We need to start with the skills training first, and then we can scale up to purchasing more computers for the schools after the training”. He noted

He stressed the need for the participating schools to secure the computers they have against burglary and maintain them regularly to ensure they meet the objective for which they were procured.

The Municipal Director of the Ghana Education Service for Tarkwa Nsueam, Mr Alex Kwaku Duah said training of teachers in ICT and provision of the computers would enhance the performances of ICT teaching and learning.