Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia has today November 20, 2020, commissioned a free WiFi project at the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ)’s new campus, situated in Dzorwulu, Accra.
Spearheaded by the Electricity Company of Ghana, GIJ’s free internet access is part of government’s plan to install a fiber network in all tertiary institutions across the country, hence connecting them to the national data through a 650fibre cable network.
Commissioning the free internet access on the GIJ campus, Mahamudu Bawumia said the initiative will boost learning among students and help to broaden the scope of ICT education and research.
“Government is committed to leveraging ICT technology as a cross-cutting enabler of the economic growth, innovation service delivery, and a powerful tool of accelerated learning. Lecturers, teachers, and students will have access to the necessary educational information to enhance teaching, learning, and research in our institutions across the country,” Vice President disclosed.
He added that the policy will also bridge the technology gap among less privileged students and students in more endowed schools as they will all have access to the same learning materials online.
“This free Wi-Fi is a leveler of academic opportunities, an equal opportunity window for students across the country. A student in a less endowed school will have access to the same academic material as his counterpart in a more endowed school,” he stated.
He further noted that the outbreak of COVID-19 has emphasized the need to accelerate high-speed internet connectivity in all campuses for distant learning.
According to Bawumia, “When this free Wi-Fi in schools project was conceived, nobody could have predicted that COVID-19 will make distance learning a central part of academic work at all levels of education. As disruptive and devastating as COVID-19 is, it has supercharged the need to create free uninterrupted internet access on campuses”.