An eleven year old basic six pupil of the T.I. Ahmadiya Islamic school in Kpalbusi in the North East Gonja District in the Savannah Region, Mohammed Rahimmah has beaten 999 girls in the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization’s Girl’s In ICT programme by scoring 92 out of 100 in an assessment test.
Mohammed Rahimmah is part of some 1,000 girls drawn from upper primary and JHS schools in all seven districts in the Savannah Region to participate in the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization’s Girl’s In ICT programme which was climaxed in Damongo on Tuesday, 9th May, 2023.
The Girl’s In ICT programme by the Ministry of Communications forms part of strategies to ensure that Ghana achieves the sustainable development goal five and Ghana’s ICT for accelerated development policy of bridging the gender digital divide which is being implemented through the Ghana Investment fund for Electronic Communication ( GIFEC) and supported by MTN, KACE, ATC, GIZ and KODRIS Africa.
In a speech to climax the Girl’s in ICT programme in the savannah region, the Minister for communications and Digitalization, Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful judging from her interactions with the girls said she was optimistic that the programme will live its mark in the hearts and minds of the people of the Savannah region, adding that she was extremely happy with the interest that the savannah region showed in the National Girl’s In ICT day.
She explained that she sees the beneficiary girls as people they are grooming to handover the baton to for them to drive the development of the country because they are building a digital Ghana which needs it’s own people to manage the infrastructure, applications and services that they are putting in place.
Hon. Ursula also indicated that, the COVID-19 pandemic has taught the nation how important ICT’s are, making them realize that if the have the right systems in place to provide access and connectivity regardless of where they are, their lives can continue without interruption no matter what pandemic or natural disaster befall the country.
The communications Minister also stated that in the world that is emerging, digital tools have taken on a crucial role and their young girls cannot be left behind as the country gradually moves from a manual to a digital economy which is a deliberate policy that the NPP government has taken, knowing how important digitalization is to the development of every economy.
She also disclosed that her ministry is developing a digital economy policy with one of it’s key pillars being digital skills, adding that with the right skills, they will ensure that they create the right environment to promote the participation of all citizens in the unfolding digital Ghana and so therefore, it is even more crucial to train the young girls and equip them with digital skills so that they can also participate in the fast emerging digital economy.
Hon. Ursula Owusu in sharing the assertion of the former UN General Secretary, Kofi Annan who once said “To educate girls is to reduce poverty” said an educated woman becomes a pillar of stability in a family through the role they play.
Out of the 1,000 trained girls, 100 of them who best performed in the training were awarded with certificates for participating in the programme coupled with brand new laptops with the best third, second and first girls grabbing two thousand Ghana cedis, two thousand five hundred Ghana cedis and three thousand Ghana cedis respectively.
On behalf of her colleagues, Mohammed Rahimmah thanked the ministry of communications and Digitalization for the initiative and described the Girl’s In ICT programme as a life changing experience for them as some of them have never touched a computer in their life until the arrival of the Girls-In-ICT programme by the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization.
The Northern region is next out of five regions scheduled to benefit from this initiative this year.
