SchoolWeb is an innovative system that dramatically improves a school's ability to deliver fast Internet access to a large number of students, cost-effectively, regardless of the school's location. It uses a combination of satellite and caching technology to broadcast Internet websites and learning modules onto the school's local server. The Ghana SchoolWeb computer labs are to be setup at secondary schools located both in the rural and urban areas of the country. Each participating school will get 20 brand new HP computers and high speed satellite internet connectivity service with content filtering -- which offers the students access to only websites pre-approved by the teachers. The primary focus of SchoolWeb is to use the Internet for information and education. Educational and learning modules such as computer hardware and software training courses from the U.S. can be broadcasted onto the SchoolWeb server at the school so the students can learn these courses at their leisure.

Putting computers in schools in Africa for students only solves one aspect of the digital divide issue. Making sure that when the computers break down, someone is there to immediately fix them is another issue. Additional issues to address include getting fast, affordable Internet connectivity and making sure students use the computers wisely and not spend all the precious bandwidth visiting undesirable sites. SchoolWeb addresses all these crucial issues in one simplified solution. “We designed SchoolWeb, taking all these factors into account, and have already tested it extensively in several schools in Canada and two schools in Kenya”, said Karim Lakhani, CEO of Advanced Interactive, designer and systems integrator of SchoolWeb. “Partnering with Africast, Hewlett Packard, Worldspace and InfoSAT, we can set up a SchoolWeb computer lab for any school in Ghana, no matter where it is located, in a matter of days”, he added. HP's Ghana office will provide 24 hour support to the participating secondary schools. HP Ghana has committed to fix any problem with the system within 24 hours if the school is in a major city or within 48 hours if the school is in a rural area.

How much does all this cost? With a five-year financing package provided by the equipment suppliers and service providers, it costs approximately $800 per month per school. After five years, the school owns the SchoolWeb computer lab and all its contents. The cost includes equipment shipping, setup, training, high speed internet connectivity, roaming email accounts for the students, remote monitoring, automatic power backups and continuous broadcasting of learning modules from the U.S. onto the school’s servers.

How does the $800 per month per school gets paid? Through an alumni sponsorship program whereby Ghanaians living in North America, Europe and around the world who are alumnae of these secondary schools will sponsor students at their alma maters. Here is a brief description of the model: Each participating alumni sponsor is required to sponsor a minimum of 2 students at $10 per student per month. “For just $10 per month, a student at your alma mater can receive computer education”, said Yaw Owusu, founder of Ghana Cyber Group (GCG), an online organization comprising over 6,000 Ghanaian expatriates that is coordinating the sponsorship drive. “This will be done through people like you and I sponsoring students at our alma maters, and empowering them through the power of IT”. Three secondary schools in Ghana have been selected as part of the pilot for SchoolWeb. They are Prempeh College, Achimota and Opoku Ware Secondary School. This is because the GCG membership base is heavily represented by Ghanaians from these schools. “There is a high level of interest for participation”, Owusu added. Alumnae of other secondary schools are urged to organize and contact GCG for implementation at their schools. For just $800 per month, each secondary school only needs a minimum of 40 alumnae paying $20 per month to have a SchoolWeb computer lab.

The first launch of SchoolWeb in Ghana is scheduled for implementation at Prempeh College next month. “This is going to be a true model of using Ghanaian expatriates abroad to transform our country socio-economically, and empowering the youth with information technology skills is a key component of that goal”, Sarpong said. Each alumni who sponsors a student or students at their alma mater is expected to also maintain constant email communication with those students, providing them advice and mentorship. Each secondary school is also expected to display a “SchoolWeb” plaque at the computer lab listing names and year of graduation of the sponsoring alumnae.

For more information about how to participate in SchoolWeb and sponsor students at your alma mater, please contact the Ghana Cyber Group at info@ghanacybergroup.com. For more details on SchoolWeb, visit www.advancedinteractive.com.