Duayaw Nkwanta library finally experiencing increasing patronage

The Golden Jubilee Library at Duayaw-Nkwanta in the Tano North District of Brong-Ahafo, has finally started experiencing patronage from the expected quarters.

The new turn in the patronage of the library is due to the introduction of computer practical lessons for basic schools in the district two months ago as a pilot project by the Ghana Library Authority (GLA) in collaboration with the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC).

A visit by the Ghana News Agency to the library saw a long queue by pupils and students of Primary and Junior High Schools in both public and private schools waiting for their turn to benefit from the facilities.

This situation, which has not only brought congestion at the library, has also placed pressure on the computers creating inconveniences for both officials and other users.

Most pupils from schools like District Council (D/C) and Presbyterian primary who had come for computer lessons told the GNA that “we always come here since the introduction of the new facilities because we have sufficient time to try our hands on the computers unlike in our schools where we are only taught theories without any practical aspects of them”.

Others explained that due to the absence or few computers in their schools, they have limited time, thereby killing their interest for practical computer tuitions.

Ms Sandra Tabuaa and Master Daniel Akpalu, Primary six and four pupils respectively stated that, had it not been the computers in the library, they would not have gotten the practical feel of the machines.

“We have been seeing them in books but now we can operate them and even switch them on and off” they added.

The pupils expressed their happiness about how they have been able to adapt quickly to computer and its application within two months and thanked the GLA and GIFEC for the initiative and pleaded with them for additional computers to augment the existing ones.

Mr. Emmanuel Sarkodie, the District Librarian said the high patronage was because most of the schools in the district had just few computers for their students.

He was however worried about the low attendance from the females compared to their male counterparts, adding that the result of the high turn-out also meant that there was excessive heat at the library and called on the Assembly to install the supplied fans and air conditioners provided by GIFEC for better ventilation.

Mr. Jafaru Taha, Information Communication and Technology (ICT) tutor at the library also expressed his satisfaction at the high turnout rate by both pupils and adults of Non-Formal Education class.

They were responding fast to basic ICT lessons such as switching and shutting down of computer, features of desktop screen, booting, typing among others, he added.

The tutor cited long queues and frequent power outages as well as inadequate computers to meet the high demands, as the major challenges distracting lessons.

He pleaded with benevolent organisations and stakeholders to assist in providing computers to schools in the district to inculcate useful ICT knowledge in the young ones.