The Deputy Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, has urged the youth to show interest in and focus on education in information, communication and technology (ICT) to be able to realise their potential in the current information society.
He said the world was rapidly growing in global trends and technology that enabled communication between young people from every corner of the world, helping to promote dialogue for development.
“We all need to know more about the internet of things (IoT) to meet up with the global trends. While access to technology has significantly changed the lives of many young people in developed countries, this is not always the case here,” he stated when he visited the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT in Accra.
He was there to get firsthand information about new softwares being developed by the centre to aid Science Technology and Mathematics (STEM) education.
Relevance of ICT
Dr Adutwum noted that access to ICT remained a challenge for the youth in the developing world and that for the country to transform its economy, ICT was needed in the school curricula to enable students to study with the most current technology.
“This can only be achieved if we have the critical mass and acknowledge this centre as one that has amassed enough populace for the IT sector. For instance, students and graduates from the centre are being leveraged on from time to time. Their skills are enough to help industries in the country leap forward with regard to their ICT needs,” he added.
Consequently, a software centre has been set up in Bolgatanga and a smart technology centre in Sunyani to help those in the area to also have access to the new initiatives in IT.
STEM Education
The Director-General of the Centre, Mr Kwasi Adu Gyan, in an interview with the Daily Graphic disclosed that the centre had been rigorously working towards promoting STEM education in the country over the years.
He said through hard work, the centre had been expanded to other regions to help increase the number of people with experience in IT.
He said some of the courses undertaken on current trends in technology included robot automation, virtual computing, machine learning, blockchain, data entry operations, artificial intelligence, systems operations and cyber security.
Apps
The centre has developed three new softwares, namely Nyansapo Operating System Solutions (NOSS), AITI-SWAYAM Virtual Learning platform and the transform project which will be launched soon.
