The District Chief Executive of Biakoye, Comfort Akua Attah, has lauded the Yamoransa Model Labs concept, an initiative of the Helping Africa Foundation (HAF) and Friends of Yamoransa (FYF), aimed at enhancing ICT education in Ghana.
According to her, technology has made the world a global village, adding that the Yamoransa Model Lab in the Biakoye District is one of the best in the Oti Region to drive home that awareness.
Madam Attah said this at the inauguration of the Yamoransa Model Lab 7 at Nkonya Ahenkro in the Oti Region.
She said many schools in Ghana were still yet to be furnished with ICT Laboratories, although it is being taught as a core subject.
Madam Attah said the project is timely; and will enhance the knowledge of pupils and students in the District.
She urged the youth of the beneficiary communities to take advantage of the ICT Lab to change their mindsets about Information Technology which appears to have been a preserve of some class of citizens.
The DCE said it was her dream to see majority of the girls taking the initiative very seriously to cut down teenage pregnancy in the District; which has prevented the girl child to climb the educational ladder.
Mr. Japhet Aryiku, Executive Director of HAF, emphasized that education is the bedrock of every country’s human resource, especially the girl child.
He therefore cautioned girls in the area to take their education more seriously and avoid pre-marital sex.
Dr. Deborah Rose, President of HAF, said her outfit seeks to complement the efforts of government to expand and promote ICT education in Ghana.
The Biakoye District Education Director, Madam Roselyn Kafui Ofori, commended HAF and FYF for supporting such a worthy cause.
She said the facility will make the students technology-savvy and help them understand the integration of ICT skills for learning other subjects.
Madam Ofori assured the HAF and FYF that the education directorate will put the facility to good use to achieve the desired impact.
The Chief Executive Officer of TECHAiDE, Mr. Kafui Prebbie, charged the facility management committee to effectively maintain the lab and give the children the opportunity to use it without any restrictions.
Nanai Okotor Kwame Tegyi II, Paramount Chief of Nkonya Traditional Area, and Chairman of the ceremony, said with ICT driving the world today, another great window of opportunity has been opened for both children and teachers to improve upon teaching and learning; and thanked the HAF and FYF for the gesture.
The Yamoransa Model Lab 7 facility is well equipped with 50-seater computer lab to provide free ICT literacy as well as a conference room for teacher training and workshops.
It has a MakerSpace specially designed by TECHAiDE, a technology company to help prepare Ghanaian students who need the critical 21st-century skills in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). TECHAiDE installed all the technology systems.
The MakerSpace installed as part of the facility includes a 3D printer, Augmented/Virtual Reality System, Arduino, Legos, and other Robotics equipment.
The computers are installed with over 30 pieces of educational software to address the curriculum requirements of Primary through Junior High School levels.
An ASANKA device at the facility provides educational content over Wi-Fi for the center over a distance of half a football field around the facility.
Due to lack of reliable electricity in many villages, the facility fully runs on solar energy to provide continuous power as part of the package.