Microsoft eyes partnership with government to drive education

Microsoft have been impressed with government’s commitment toward education that they have resolved to aid that course through technology, Jaye Richards-Hill, the Business Development manager of Microsoft Worldwide (Education team) has revealed.

“Where you have a government that places importance on education improvement as it appears the Ghanaian government does, then Microsoft are ready and willing to support them on that journey” she said.

Speaking at an exclusive education leaders event in Ghana to address the Digital Transformation in Education, the Business Development Manager, further stated that technology has an important role potentially to play in transforming education.

“On the plane here [Ghana] I was reading through the manifesto of the current President and it’s very clear, he places huge importance on the value of education and providing a quality education for all Ghanaian citizens and I think technology if it is used correctly can help support the vision that the President articulated in his manifesto and everything he said since the elections” she told B&FT in an interview during an exclusive education leaders event in Accra.

She also indicated ways they intend to assist government use technology to boost education by helping them align their strategy and their policy with best practices in the world through their education transformation framework.

It is intended to help government plan, strategize and implement policy around digital transformation, covering leadership, classroom change, curriculum, choice and technology, monitoring and evaluation, accessibility.

Anthony Nyutu, Head of Devices, Microsoft Africa, also explained that working with Microsoft promises affordable products or devices with a low budget.

“When you work with us in education, then we give you software that is subsidized as an education sector that makes it land into schools or institutions at a very low cost because a lot of people think Microsoft is expensive, but we have affordable licenses that we give to education, where we have highly subsidized, that is where we make devices more affordable to get, means you can get more devices to schools that helps more students have these devices”.

He also emphasized the need for countries and educational institutions to embrace technology in order not to be irrelevant.

The event supported by Zepto Ghana Ltd, Point of View as well as Africa Schools Online brought together Heads of Institutions, Directors of IT, Teachers and actors in the education sector to discover more about how Microsoft and its Partners’ latest technologies and education tools are enabling institutions to save money, attract students, empower all stakeholders and enable data-led decision making globally.

It also included discussions on how Microsoft 365 Education combines the essentials of the Windows 10 platform all within a simplified licensing framework: Office 365 for productivity and collaboration, Enterprise Mobility Suite for security and management.

Microsoft introduced Minecraft: Education edition, an exciting open-world game that educators can use across subjects to help engage students in fun, new ways.