The former President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) and Member of the New Patriotic Party’s Education Committee of the Manifesto team, Dennis Appiah Larbi-Ampofo, has indicated that there is nothing more important than the investment in the digital and technological acumen of young people.
He noted that the ‘One Student One Tablet’ initiative by the incumbent government is aimed at enhancing the education of students as well as equipping them with technological skills which will enable them to navigate a society with ever-increasing technological advancement.
He stated that the textbooks and past questions that were loaded onto the smart tablets provided to Senior High Schools under this initiative cost less than they ordinarily would. He emphasized that the initiative aims to transition schools from an analog society to a digital space.
“We don’t have a young man who gets to an interview room and is asked to operate a PowerPoint and is struggling to operate a PowerPoint because right from day one, the person is getting closer and closer. It means that we have young people who in the next ten years will be able to revolutionize our agriculture, our water supply, or our commerce sector”.
Dennis Appiah Larbi-Ampofo
Furthermore, Dennis Appiah Larbi-Ampofo noted that Ghana is competing with other countries in an edge-cutting global environment, emphasizing that the government’s efforts to upgrade the younger generation will pay dividends in a few years to come. “I am convinced that Ghana is doing something right when it comes to our education space” he added.
He indicated that though the government’s investment into certain areas may not seem much at the moment, these investments into priority areas will change the country’s socio-economic scope, in ten years or less, where young people will take charge of the country’s digitization drive.
Moreover, he indicated that like the 1 Student 1 Tablet policy, the Smart School Project ensures access to digital learning which parents can also monitor. He indicated that the Smart School project provides students with a learning platform that makes learning and researching easy.
He also indicated that the tablets that will be provided by the government will have refurbishing centers across the country that will ensure that the tablets will be updated regularly. He emphasized that the most important aspect of the initiative is that it gives students from less endowed backgrounds the opportunity to access technology that enhances learning without any cost to their parents or guardians.
The Running Mate Saga
Moreover, Dennis Appiah Larbi-Ampofo opined that Ghanaians must stop pressuring the Vice President to provide a name for his running mate for the Presidential election. He indicated that for the Vice President to choose a plausible running mate for the election, he (the Vice President) needs to do that in consultation with party officials hence the delay.
“Nana Addo and Mahama took time to announce their running mates and when it gets to Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, without evidence, we say that he is not being his own man. We are not being fair to Dr. Bawumia, we have to wait for him to announce and see if he backtracks because when Nana Addo announced, he did not backtrack, when Mahama announced he did not backtrack so we cannot necessarily judge that he [the Vice President] is shaky and cannot make decisions”.
Dennis Appiah Larbi-Ampofo
Concerning the amendment in the Contract Law that was assented to by the President, Dennis Appiah Larbi-Ampofo stated that the Attorney General must be commended for his effort as the amendment made to the law saves the country a lot financially.
However, he indicated that it is worrying how long it takes for a bill passed by Parliament to be assented to by the President. He stressed that in light of what is ongoing considering the anti-LGBTQ+ bill, a new procedure regarding the transmission of bills and assenting to bills must be drawn to avoid delays in passing bills into law.
Conclusively, while the NPP flagbearer is yet to announce his running mate for the Presidential election, NPP patriots are of the view that the Vice President will eventually announce a mate who complements him well.
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