Senior High Schools and Tertiary institutions in the country will from this year have access to free internet to improve teaching and learning.
This is according to Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawmuia.
He said the government has already awarded the contract for the first batch of wifi installations to begin in some second cycle and tertiary institutions as part of the project.
Although he did not name the contractor, he said the government wants the students in Senior High Schools and those in tertiary institutions to “access that knowledge” that exists on the internet.
“To allow access to the internet across public tertiary institutions and Senior High Schools, government has awarded the contract for the provision of free wi-fi to all SHS and tertiary institutions. There is so much knowledge on the internet and we have to allow our Senior High Schools to access that knowledge. We promised free wi-fi and we are going to deliver…The program is going to kick off this year,” Dr. Bawumia noted at the government’s 2020 town hall meeting held in the Ashanti Regional capital, Kumasi on Tuesday.
According to the Vice President, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), is among the first batch of academic institutions that will benefit from the facility this year.
In July 2019, while speaking at the official launch of the 20th anniversary of Tertiary Students Confederacy (TESCON) in Accra, Dr. Bawumia indicated that the first phase of the wi-fi project also included schools such as the University of Ghana, University for Professional Studies Accra (UPSA), West Africa Senior High School, and the Kwabenya Community Day school.
In August 2019 while speaking at the International Youth Day (IYD) celebration under the auspices of the National Youth Authority at the Anagkazo Bible School at Mampong in the Eastern Region, Dr. Bawumia indicated that the free internet facility would be piloted ahead of the national rollout.
It is unclear where the pilot was done ahead of the expected rollout of the program this year.