Ghanaian actor cum politician John Dumelo has rejected the government's initiative to share laptops and tablets to Senior High School students in the country.

According to him, many challenges confront the second-cycle institutions, including an infrastructural deficit that the government needs to address urgently instead of giving students free laptops.

He also lamented the quality of food served to the students enrolled in the Free Senior High School policy, adding that the shortage of food is problematic and should be addressed as well.

Speaking in an interview with Bola Ray on Starr FM monitored by GhanaWeb, Dumelo noted that the sharing of free laptops to SHS students is a misplaced priority by the government.

“You can’t share laptops to students when they don’t have anywhere to sleep and food to eat,” he stated.

Background

On Monday, March 25, 2024, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo launched what the government is calling the Ghana Smart Schools Project.

The project aims to equip students benefiting from the Free SHS policy with crucial technological skills, aligning with the government's commitment to leveraging technology to advance education.

At the launch, which was attended by the Vice President of Ghana, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia; the Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum; and other highly-powered politicians and stakeholders in the education sector, President Akufo-Addo said that the project will provide students with free laptops.

“To distribute 1.3 million educational tablets to students in SHSs. That is one student, and one tablet under the Ghana Smart Schools Project. The tablets are fitted with digital content to aid research, teaching, and learning.

“At the tertiary level, Ghana is pleased to provide tablets and laptops to students and lecturers at a discounted price to facilitate academic activities. The government continues to seek innovative ways to promote STEM and the FSHS policy,” he said.

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John Dumelo sits with Bola Ray on #StarrChat...#StarrFM #GHOneTV pic.twitter.com/f83XZqWgIU

— GHOne TV (@ghonetv) April 4, 2024