The Government of Ghana is looking forward to boosting admissions into universities using information and communication technology platforms.
The Deputy Minister of Education (Tertiary) Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa disclosed this at the inauguration of University of Ghana’s special ICT project at the weekend.
In a speech Ablakwa said the inauguration of the University of Ghana, Legon’s distance ICT project would result in an increase in the enrolment of students .
Currently, the tertiary education sector can only accommodate 250,000 while the senior high schools produce more than 840,000 students annually.
Under the project, modern ICT facilities have been installed at the University of Ghana’s regional learning centres in Wa, Tamale, Sunyani, Kumasi, Koforidua, Takoradi, as well as at Tsito and the Accra City Campus.
Additionally, 3,000 distance education students will receive 9.7 inch Internet-enabled android tablets preloaded with all the teaching and learning materials.
This is intended to enhance teaching and learning by moving from paper-based teaching materials to the e-learning platform.
The project was funded by the government with a Chinese government loan of $37.5 million under the Chinese Phase Two ICT Project.
At the inauguration of the project in Accra, the Project Manager, Dr Sam Somuah, said each regional learning centre had been provided with a 50-seater computer laboratory and video conference centre connected to a data centre at the Legon campus.
In addition, he said fibre network had been deployed to connect all the regional learning centres and Accra City Campus to the Data Centre at Legon.
“This will allow video conferences to be held between any of the regional learning centres and Legon with the use of the classroom recording equipment deployed by the project lectures on the main campus. Lectures can be recorded and transmitted live to the regional learning centres,” Dr Somuah said.
The Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Ms Sun Baohong, said the Chinese government, as part of its commitment to support Ghana’s educational sector, would build a library each year.
So far, she said, two libraries had been built in Ghana by the Chinese government and more than 500 Chinese government scholarships had been given to Ghanaian students.
On his part, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Ernest Aryeetey, commended the government for supporting the university and gave an assurance that the university would continue to produce skilled graduates to promote the country’s development.