University of Ghana inaugurate Network Operations Centre

Accra, July 23, GNA - An Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) infrastructure for a Network Operations Centre (NOC) to facilitate the University of Ghana's ICT-based Distance Education Project was inaugurated on Friday.

It is expected to help improve teaching and learning and in addition, widen access to and affordability of tertiary education using ICT.

Professor Nii Boye Tagoe, the Vice-Chancellor, said the project was financed by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning with a Chinese credit facility.

He thanked the Chinese government and contractors on the project for the support and the centre to serve as the ICT powerhouse that would be a great asset to the nation.

"It is the hub that would power the ICT-based Distant Education, the systems for e-learning, school management, e-library, e-mail and internet facilities".

Prof. Tagoe said other components of the project included student computer laboratories and a video conferencing facility at the Institute of Continuing and Distance Education.

He expressed the hope that with the continued and assured support of the government when the second phase of the project is successfully implemented, distance education students would be able to access on-line degree courses from the 10 regions or from the convenience of their homes.

Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, the Minister of Education in a speech read for him, said it was the Ministry's vision to coordinate the use of ICT tools and resources by learners and workers to achieve personal and corporate goals and also be active participants in the knowledge economy by 2015.

He said until the proposal for the ICT-based distance education project was formulated and presented, the Ministry already had plans to facilitate the construction of a private IP Network to be shared by only educational institutions starting with the tertiary educational institutions under a proposed Ghana e-Education Network Infrastructure Project (GeNIP).

Mr Tettey-Enyo said the e-Education infrastructure was to provide connectivity among users to a defined set of service delivery point and allow the implementation of logical networks allowing independent departments, autonomous and secure usage within the physical network.

He said the planned project was to support critical functions and be immune from malicious service and functional disruptions to which the shared public networks were vulnerable.

The Sector Minister challenged personnel who would be in charge of the project to be up to the task in terms of cyber security and called on beneficiaries as well as stakeholders to support and embrace the new challenge of ICT education in Ghana.

Mr Hu Yu Jie, Commercial Counsellor, Chinese Embassy, said the ICT project signified another collaborative effort between Ghana and China in their bilateral relationship.

He pledged continues support and assistance of Chinese Government to Ghana in various sectors of the economy.