Revisit public policy on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for Education and shift focus on Teachers and stifling salaries

1.           Amidst the COVID-19 disruptions in Ghana, if teachers are supposedly at home and “not working” or “doing all manner of things” (Ghanaweb May 21-22, 2020), it means the country has ineffectual public policy on ICT for Education. A major flagship intervention heralded by the Global Knowledge Partnership (www.globalknoweledgepartnership.org) with the participation of Ghana and other countries more than two decades ago is the “One Child, One Tablet” initiative. If today there is a pandemic necessitating the widespread use of Virtual Classrooms, and the best online platform the country can showcase is the Ghana Learning TV, then it is urgent to revisit the public policy on ICT for Education.

2,           Public schools have always lacked adequate learning, teaching and reading materials, and the advent of ubiquitous ICTs was construed as the solutions pathway by many advocates. The visionary countries invested in the required infrastructure to enable virtual classrooms and remote learning. There are no claims from such countries that under the COVID-19 restrictions, teachers are at home doing nothing and should be entitled to half salaries. Rather, teachers and respective students are continually engaged in virtual classrooms, and curriculum is covered regardless the absence of conventional physical interactions.

3.           Virtual classrooms are the new normal, and schools not engaging students and teachers by this mode are missing out and lagging in the global education arena. Certainly, the private schools such as the Ghana International School (GIS) and the likes are following the comparator counterpart practice elsewhere and harnessing virtual classrooms to lessen the disruptive impact of the pandemic. No one will dare to touch the salaries of teachers in these schools.

4.           The government platform of Ghana Learning TV is woefully inadequate and restrictive, and cannot substitute for the need for virtual classrooms in every nook and cranny of the country. Public schools with the requisite investments in ICT infrastructure will mean one tablet for each school going child, reliable internet connectivity, and software for virtual school operations.

5.           Education under COVID-19 and beyond requires a balance between virtual and physical classroom needs and investments.  Tablets and textbooks are inseparable and it is neither one nor the other. Government and the telecommunication companies must not renege on the pledge to support and promote a successful public policy on ICT for Education. Students in many public schools are missing out on continuous education for lack of ICT infrastructure.  Reluctance to return to the physical classrooms while COVID-19 cases keep increasing will deepen but irrational when virtual classrooms are easily available and accessible. For further information on ICT for Education policy and strategy, visit www.anani-afelenetwork.org

May 24, 2020