15 schools to benefit from first phase of Smart Schools project

The Executive Director (ED) for the Center for National Distance Learning and Open Schooling (CENDLOS), Nana Gyamfi Adwabour has revealed that 15 Senior High Schools (SHSs) across the country will be the beneficiaries of the first phase of the Ghana Smart Schools Project.

The project, which is set to be launched by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Monday, March 25, 2024, in Accra, is part of the government’s efforts to enhance e-learning and digitisation.

A statement released in Accra by the Ministry of Education and signed by Spokesperson Kwasi Kwarteng on Wednesday, March 20, explained that the initiative aims to strengthen senior high school education by providing teaching and learning management systems, digital learning content, and electronic devices to all senior high and TVET schools nationwide.

In an Eyewitness News interview with Selorm Adonoo on Citi FM on Thursday, Mr Adwabour revealed that the project will be implemented in phases, with 15 schools selected for the first phase.

He emphasized that the project’s focus will be on SHS 1, 2, and 3 to assess how it benefits students in Ghana. He assured that all SHSs, including the remaining 488 schools, will eventually benefit from the project.

“We are implementing it in phases, and the focus is on SHS 1, 2, and 3 because we want to see how this project will benefit the people of Ghana. So, we have selected 15 schools for the first phase, and additional schools will be included in subsequent phases. We have close to 503 SHSs, so everyone should be patient and wait for their turn,” he stated.

Mr. Adwabour also mentioned that they are working closely with the Ghana Education Service (GES) and TVET to ensure the project’s successful implementation.

The distribution of laptops and other electronic devices, he said, will follow a pyramid approach, starting from the national level down to the regional and district levels.

“We have the 15 schools we have selected. We are working with GES and of course, TVET and other agencies in the country so we have a schedule for the 15 schools and we are working with all the stores in GES and TVET so once the laptop gets there, of course, all the regions and the districts, so the whole approach will be a sort of pyramid. From the National, it gets to the regional then it goes to the districts.”