The British Council in partnership with the government of Ghana and the Wikimedia Foundation has launched a project targeted at improving academic performance and greater employability of young people in Ghana.
Dubbed: 'Skills4Success', the project which runs until March 2023 in Ghana aims to provide lecturers from colleges of education and universities as well as student teachers with the knowledge and skills to develop improved digital literacy and factual writing skills in the young learners they teach.
Twenty-six lecturers from Colleges of Education and Universities across the country have been selected for the pilot of the 'Skills4Success' project.
The 26 lecturers are drawn from the Presbyterian College of Education, Jasikan College of Education, Bagabaga College of Education, Holy Child College of Education, St Louis College of Education, University of Education, Winneba and the University of Cape Coast.
If successful, the project will be scaled-up in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa in the future.
Launch
Speaking at the launch of the project on Monday in Accra, the Acting Country Director at the British Council Ghana & Cameroon, Mr. Chikodi Onyemerela, said the project intends to equip teachers and Junior High School Students with the skills to be able to navigate through the noise of the digital space.
"The linear relationship between effective teaching/teacher competency and pupils' learning outcome is well documented in the various extant literature and what we are setting out today is an enduring journey to support the numerous efforts by State and Non-State actors to improve the output and competitiveness of the Ghanaian students, using Colleges and Universities of Education as an entry point,'' he said.
He revealed that a recent consultative meeting with top officials at the Ministry of Education underlined the importance and focus on STEM education, Digital Literacy and the need to enhance English Language amongst teachers, school leaders and students across the country.
Mr. Abdulai Jinapor, Deputy Director at the Ghana Tertiary Commission in his remarks commended all partners for this project which according to him will help improve the skills sets of students other than just acquiring knowledge.
Mr Jinapor noted that the training programme would enable teachers students and trainers to better understand how to use the internet as a learning and research resource, and actively engage in the online space in professional contexts.
He added that it would also improve the quality of their written communication both academically and professionally, and develop their confidence in their use of digital tools.