That, she said, had become necessary because ICT had tremendous influence as the pupils progressed to the senior high schools and eventually to the tertiary level.

She explained ICT would assist them in choosing their dream careers to be professionals and become useful citizens in the future.

The Minister gave the advice when she visited the Aburi ICT Centre in the Akuapem South Municipality in the Eastern Region last Friday.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful, who was on the first leg of a three-day tour to some parts of the Eastern Region on a programme, "Girls-In-ICT”, also visited ICT centres at Akuapem Mampong and Koforidua, where she interacted with female pupils as well as those in the senior high schools.

The interventions, she said, included the Girls-In-ICT programme, ICT laboratories for Senior High Schools, e-Transform and Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion projects.

The initiative is being implemented with support from the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) as the technical resource provider, with training by Kofi the Annan Centre of Excellence (KACE).

It is supported by MTN Ghana, National Communications Authority (NCA), American Towers Company (ATC), Ministry of Education and GIZ, among others.

The event ended with a mentorship session, where women working in ICT-related fields shared their professional experiences in that field to guide female pupils in choosing their future careers.

Gender gap

It was also to bridge the gender gap in ICT studies and consequently at the workplaces because female pupils will eventually enter the job market any moment soon.

That, Mrs Owusu-Ekuful explained, was because ICT studies would enable them to take full advantage of the opportunities it offered in various professions.

She added that it would, for instance, make it easier for them to choose the dream programmes they would want to offer at JHS, SHS and the university.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful, who was accompanied by her Deputy, Ama Pomaa Boateng, other officials from the ministry as well as the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), said she was satisfied with the training and indicated that it had enhanced the knowledge of the pupils. 

The pupils were excited about the training and said they had little or no knowledge about ICT and that it had exposed them to numerous things ICT could do, especially website creation and games, among others.