E-LEARNING CENTRE FOR AIYINASE COMMUNITIES (PAGE 11, JAN 3, 2011)

A FIFTY-FIVE THOUSAND-CEDI electronic-learning centre with internet facility has been provided for Atuabo and Aiyinase communities in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region.
The project was financed by the Member of Parliament for Ellembelle, Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, through his share of the common fund with support from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund).
The centre is fitted with HP computers and servers, multi-media children’s computers for beginners, wireless networking system and a wide range of multi-media educational software, which covers children from nursery through primary to second-cycle.
The facilities also include: a digital library comprising Encarta Encyclopedia and digital dictionaries as well as digital photocopiers and standby generator with an instructor, who would monitor the activities of the children at the centre.
Mr Buah said although Information and Communication Technology (ICT) had become one of the core subjects in schools in Ghana, children in the rural areas did not have access to the facilities to enhance their learning.
He said his resolve was to focus on education and health to ensure that the development gap between children in his rural area and their counterparts in towns and cities were bridged.
Mr Buah said long before he assumed office, he had a vision to create an enabling environment for children which encouraged him to solicit funds from Nzemas in London for the establishment of the computer centre at Aiyinase.
“Another project we are working on is to open another centre at Asaretre as well as a million dollar ICT centre at Esiama with support from the MTN and World Bank,” he said.
The MP, who is also the deputy minister of Energy said, “I hope with the facility, the online registration and checking of results and other issues of examination that will require the use of the Internet will not be a problem for pupils and students from the area again.”
“I feel sad to see my little brothers travelling because they want to have a photocopy of lecture notes, or access to the Internet in other towns,” he said.
The Deputy Minister in charge of tertiary education, Mrs Elizabeth Amoah-Tetteh, said there were renewed efforts by the government regarding the promotion of ICT as tutors in 38 colleges of education had been trained in that direction.
She said all 26 technical institutes and training collages were also equipped with ICT equipment with Internet access last year.
“Over 50 basic school teachers have been trained and 200 schools from all regions and pre-tertiary levels had undergone a train-the-trainer workshop to equip them to deliver,” she said.
The deputy minister later inaugurates and named the centre after a prominent mother of Atuabo community, Madam Anoma-Eba, who was described as a community leader who devoted her life to save lives and feed the hungry.