The $1.2 million World Bank grant for digital literacy would be channeled towards funding impoverished basic schools located across the country, according to Minister of Education Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum.
He stated that the funds will be utilized to improve the learning environment by providing furniture and teaching and learning resources.
Dr. Adutwum went on to say that as a condition precedent to the World Bank disbursing the grant, the Ministry of Education funded the teachers' digital literacy project with its own funds, and that the funds could be used to improve infrastructure in basic schools, including those described as "schools under trees."
"I was able to complete the job at no expense to the government." "I've used existing resources and leveraged the government's investment in the one-teacher, one-laptop project to do something that hadn't been done before I took over," he added.
Yesterday, Dr. Adutwum spoke with the Daily Graphic Editorial Conference, a gathering of editors and gatekeepers convened by Graphic Editor Kobby Asmah.
Angela Affran, the ministry's Technical Advisor for School Performance Improvement, and Kwesi Abankwah, the ministry's Head of Corporate Affairs, accompanied the minister.
The minister had phoned for the second time to speak with the Editorial Team.
He also paid a visit to G-Pak, a printing subsidiary of Graphic Communications Group Ltd that is now printing government textbooks.
The minister also paid a visit to Ato Afful, the Managing Director of the GCGL, where he underlined that the government will work with the Junior Graphic to guarantee that the newspaper was distributed to all primary schools.
Literacy in the digital age
The teachers' digital literacy initiative, according to Dr. Adutwum, is planned to train 40,000 teachers in digital literacy, triggering a World Bank release of $1.2 million under the Ghana Accountability for Learning Outcomes Project (GALOP).
He did, however, say that he carried out the initiative by utilizing an existing federal educational platform rather than paying for the creation of a new platform, which would have cost the government around $200,000.
More than 41,000 teachers were trained in computer literacy as a result of this, he added, emphasising that the $1.2 million from the World Bank remained secure and sound.
Changes in project funding
According to Dr. Adutwum, the World Bank's project finance has altered dramatically.
"Due to corruption, it has chosen in recent years not to hand over a pot of money and say, 'use it to do this or that.'" So it's 'Resource allow financing,'" he explained.
He further stated that in the case of teacher IT training, the grant was related to the debt.
Before the $1.2 million was given, the World Bank completed due diligence, according to the ministry.
"From Washington, DC, the World Bank went onto the website, double-checked everything, and was happy. The UN International Children's Fund (UNICEF), as the primary development partner in Ghana, was then requested to form a team of IT professionals to double-check it.
"They, too, went through the entire platform, double-checked the statistics, and then signed off on the project." "And $1.2 million was paid up to us on April 19, 2022," Dr. Adutwum stated.