The Girls-in-ICT programme in the Savannah Region has given 100 girls who emerged as top performers in the programme's examinations a laptop and a certificate each as a prize.
The programme ran from April 25 to May 09 and trained 1,000 girls from basic schools in all seven districts in the region on basic ICT skills to help them explore digital technologies.
During the examinations, Mohammed Rahimmah, aged 11, from North East Gonja District, was adjudged the overall winner after recording a score of 92. Alfreda Frimpong, aged 12, from Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District, and Salu Saratu Alele, aged 11, from the same district, took the second and third positions, scoring 90 and 89, respectively.
Aside from the laptops and certificates, the overall winner received a cash prize of GH¢3,000, while the second and third-place winners took home GH¢2,500 and GH¢2,000, respectively.
In addition, there were awards for Girl Education Officers, Best Teachers from the Districts in the Region, and the Minister's Special Award.
The Girls-in-ICT programme was sponsored by MTN, German Development Cooperation, Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT, GIFEC, ATC and KODRIS AFRICA, and organised by the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation. The theme for this year's event was “Digital Skills for Life.”
At the prize-giving ceremony in Damongo, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, said the initiative would leave its mark in the minds of the people of the region and its fruits would be felt for a long time.
She encouraged girls to embrace ICT, explore opportunities in ICT, and pursue Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics courses, adding that computer laboratories would be built in some of the schools in the region to facilitate it.
Mrs Owusu-Ekuful also said the training offered to the beneficiaries would enable them to participate in the digital economy, adding that the speedy adoption of technology was the surest way for the country to catch up with the developed world.
She stated that the government was working to build 2,016 Rural Telephony Networks in unserved and underserved communities to ensure residents' access to high-speed voice and data services, which would improve their business operations and enable schoolchildren, such as those trained in ICT skills, to continue exploring digital technologies.
Madam Gifty Twum Ampofo, Deputy Minister for Education, praised the effort to ensure voice and data connectivity in underserved communities, saying it would make learning easy in the communities.
She advised the girls to make good use of digital technologies to uplift themselves.
Madam Lariba Zuweira Abudu, Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, lauded the initiative, saying it complemented the efforts of her Ministry to ensure that girls remained in school. She told the girls that the world was full of opportunities and advised them to explore them with care.
Mr Saeed Muhazu Jibril, Savannah Regional Minister, encouraged the girls to continue to explore ICT tools to excel in their various activities.
Mohammed Rahimmah, the overall winner of the examinations, described her feat as a life-changing experience, saying that the first time she used a laptop was when she joined the training under the Girls-in-ICT programme.
She expressed gratitude to the Minister for Communications and Digitalisation for organising the initiative and thanked the teachers for the effective way they delivered the lessons to them.
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