GES urged to rethink on mobile phone use in SHS

Mr Kenneth Ashigbey, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Telecommunications Chamber has called on the Ghana Education service (GES) to re-consider its stance against the use of mobile phones in Senior High Schools.

Speaking at the 87th Speech and prize-giving Day celebration of the St Augustine’s College in Cape Coast on Saturday, Mr Ashigbey said mobile phone usage could be properly regulated in schools to advance academic work of students

The anniversary celebration which was on the theme: “The role of technology in preparing students for the future global economy” brought together people from all walks of life including; old boys, staff, parents and other distinguished personalities from across the country.

Mr Ashigbey said allowing SHS students to use mobile phones must not be a problem because students could be guided on the effective use of the internet and its profitability.

He was of the view that students should be taught to create content that would promote development rather than just being taught the basics of a computer and internet.

“Help students develop digital strategies by teaching them how to code and making coding part of their syllabus”, he said.

Mr Ashigbey encouraged teachers to embrace the current technological trend as it was a necessary requirement in the fast changing technological world.

This, he said would help them direct student’s interest in technology and make them better prepared in the key skills of critical thinking, communication and creativity to better succeed in the global economy.

Speaking on the theme, the Guest Speaker for the occasion, Mr Kofi Osei-Ameyaw, Director General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA) said fundamental changes in the global economy, jobs and business had reshaped the nature of work.

These changes, he noted was fuelled by technology and was leading to a more efficient and effective ways of doing things.

Mr Osei-Ameyaw underscored that preparing the youth for the global economy was critical for the Ghana’s future and therefore students need to be better prepared in industry skills of critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity in addition to the traditional academic skills.

He therefore called for a change in the teaching model from a factory model of instruction to a “self-directed” one where students were allowed to develop proactivity and a habit of lifelong learning.

“To succeed in the future global economy, proficiency in the traditional reading, writing and arithmetic is not sufficient. It is a requirement to be able to think critically, solve problems, communicate, collaborate and use technology effectively”.

He said technology could be an instrumental force for preparing students for the future global economy adding that, widespread availability of mobile phone technology, the internet and intelligent cloud computing provided an opportunity to transform the education module to better prepare students for the global economy.

He said it was imperative for schools to possess technological literacy as they prepared students for the future global economy.

“Technology empowers students to be more creative and more connected. It has the potential to impact learning, using technology in the classroom helps teachers to develop their students digital citizenship skills”.

The Headmaster, Mr Joseph Connel in his report, mentioned a number of ongoing projects on campus and hoped that they would be completed on time to address the accommodation challenges of the school.

He said the school continued to maintain higher pedestal in academic performance as it recorded over 90 per cent passes from A1 to C6 in the 2017 West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSE).

Awards were given to deserving students, teachers and non-teaching staff.