An 11-year-old pupil of Prang RC Primary School, in Pru West, Princess Kumi, has emerged as the over-all best ICT student, out of a thousand students chosen from basic schools in the Bono East Region to participate in the ‘Girls-in-ICT’ programme.
She was awarded a cash of GH₵3000 as well as a plaque and laptop from the Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula-Owusu Ekuful, while each participant also received certificate of participation in the training.
Speaking at the event, the Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Mrs Owusu-Ekuful, thanked parents and teachers for supporting the girls.
She encouraged the beneficiaries to continue pursuing their interest in ICT and Science with the aim of becoming experts in the field.
“We thank you all teachers and parents because it’s not all girls that have the opportunity to go through this training. I’m personally delighted by the achievements in the programme so far, and I will say kudos to you all,” she stated.
The chairman for the occasion, Oseadeeyo Akumfi-Ameyaw IV, the paramount chief of Techiman Traditional Area, urged the government to sustain the programme for more girls to benefit.
He applauded the government and the Minister for the gesture, and requested more of such programmes to promote the learning and teaching of ICT in the region.
Initiative
The ‘Girls-in-ICT’ programme is an initiative by the International Telecommunication Union, which has been enhanced by the government of Ghana through the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation.
Under the theme ‘Access and Safety’, this year’s event will be taking place in five regions. Five thousand girls and one thousand teachers will be trained on security.
This has become necessary due to the growing concern of cyber security.
The Bono East Region is the first of five regions to host the event this year. Eleven best performing schools will be receiving ICT laboratories from the Ghana Electronic Fund for Communication (GIFEC), as part of their reward in the entire exercise.