 |
| Dr. Edward Omane Boamah |
The Minister of Communications Dr. Edward Omane Boamah
has revealed that government is pursuing a vigorous national broadband
infrastructure development to reach all parts of the country in order to
provide enough bandwidth capacity for ICT deployment.
“This ICT deployment
will open up business opportunities as well as promote research, innovation,
training and skills acquisition. As part of the programme, the construction of
Eastern Corridor Optic Fibre Transmission Network from Ho to Bawku with a link
to Tamale has been completed”.
In a speech read for
him by his Deputy Mr. Felix Kwakye Ofosu at the 5th National Girls
in ICT Celebration in Tamale, Dr. Boamah said the fibre optic transmission
network would bring connectivity to more than 120 rural communities and improve
access to data, voice and video services to people residing in the communities.
Additionally, the
e-Government Platform Project, according to him, was deploying LTE technology
and would further expand the broadband framework for the deployment of ICT applications
and usage in all sectors of the country’s economy.
“With the
availability of broadband infrastructure, government expects to rapidly expand
access to quality education and place technology at the centre in building a
knowledge-based economy and society in Ghana. This is a pledge and passion of
the government of H.E. John Dramani Mahama and to a large extent, the government
has delivered on the promise”, he said.
As part of
the global effort to empower and encourage girls and young women to consider
careers in the growing field of information and communication technologies
(ICTs), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) instituted the Girls in
ICT Day in 2010 in Geneva.
The Day is
celebrated in the last Thursday of April every year. On this Day, all
stakeholders are encouraged to organize events with the vision to empower and encourage girls and young women
to consider studies and careers in the growing field of ICTs.
Under the
theme: “Girls in ICT –Key to Entrepreneurship and Development”, this
year’s celebration saw 1,080 girls from 158 Junior High Schools in 12 districts
successfully participate in a capacity enhancement programme.
 |
| File Pic.: Students of An Unknown School Studying ICT |
The girls
were specifically selected from districts such as Bole, Gambaga, Walewale,
Gushegu, Tamale Metro, Sagnarigu, Bimbilla, Yendi, Savelugu, Karaga, Buipe and
Saboba.
According to Dr.
Edward Omane Boamah, with this exposure, it is evident to girls that ICT
provides abundant opportunities for employment, innovation, entrepreneurship
and empowerment and indeed, welcoming for female participation and leadership.
“In this regard, it
is fair to say that given the opportunities to grow, learn and adapt, women
will dominate the ICT landscape in the coming decade where it is estimated that
there will be 2 million more ICT jobs than there are professionals to fill them”,
he added.
The Northern
Regional Director of the Ghana Education Service Alhaji Mohammed Haroun who
represented the Minister for Education, charged students to take the study of
ICT seriously since there were a lot of avenues for them to choose a career.
He acknowledged
that, the study of ICT was an elixir to many development challenges including
education, hence the Ministry had been able to distribute over 24,000 laptops
and desktop computers to teachers and schools across the country to facilitate
teaching and learning efficiently.
Meanwhile, at the
climax of the celebration in Tamale, dozens of the over 1,080 girls who
participated in the capacity enhancement programme and excelled were honoured
by the Ministry of Communications and its partners including MTN, Airtel, IPMC,
GIFEC and NCA.
Each of the best
performing girls was given a laptop, Samsung galaxy ipad, pen drive, modem,
chip, airtime and certificate.
No comments:
Post a Comment