Regional News of Sunday, 12 April 2009

Source: GNA

South-Dayi citizens urged to help provide facilities for ICT education

Peki-Tsame, (V/R), April 12, GNA-Citizens of South-Dayi have been urged to help provide facilities for Information Communication Technology education for pupils and students in their respective communities. Mr Edem Asimah, Member of Parliament for South-Dayi made the call at the inauguration of a computer centre and library at the Peki-Tsame Basic Schools on Saturday.

He commended Peki-Tsame for setting the pace by establishing the first such computer centre through the instrumentality of Mrs Mawutor Ndenya-Akpedonu, who provided 30 computers and accessories made up eight laptops and 22 desktops at a cost of 30,000 dollars.

Mrs Ndenya-Akpedonu, who is also the development Queen (Ngoyifia) of Peki-Tsame, resident in the United States also provided books worth 10,000 dollars for the basic school library.

Mr. Asimah said knowledge in ICT has become an important factor in people's abilities to fit into the modern way of life and therefore a must for all children no matter where they found themselves. He therefore, commended Mrs. Ndenya-Akpedonu for helping her community with "this most vital component of education today" and called on the leaders of Peki-Tsame to plan towards the regular maintenance of the computers.

Mrs. Ndenya-Akpedonu said she would next add an internet facility to the computer centre so as to keep her people in touch with the rest of the world and for students and pupils in the community to broaden their horizon.

Togbe Baduvie IV, Chief of Peki-Tsame thanked Mrs Ndenya-Akpedonu, "our development Queen" and her colleagues from the USA for providing the computers and the books for the establishment of the computer centre and the library.

He said the facilities were important keys with which the community, especially its young ones could unlock the world's challenges and opportunities, fight ignorance, disease and poverty. Togbe Baduvie said the pupils in the community are fortunate to be given a head start in ICT education which has been integrated into the Basic school syllabus by government which is yet to provide the computers for teaching the subject.

"I therefore take this opportunity to appeal to our teachers, pupils, parents and the community to do their utmost to ensure that we make maximum use of the facilities including their maintenance". Mr. Samuel Yao Bortsi, Chairman of the Accra branch of the Peki-Tsame Central Union told the Ghana News Agency that the community refurbished two classrooms at a total cost of 2,500 Ghana cedis to accommodate the computer centre and the library. He said the community has also employed a computer instructor, technician and librarian to run and maintain the two facilities.