At least five thousand teachers in semi-urban Ghana will now have access to high-quality digital learning and teaching materials to improve teaching methods specifically in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects and vocational orientation of students.
The program facilitated by Siemens Stiftung and Ghanaian social enterprise, BLUETOWN will enable the teachers to connect to the local cloud.
The initiative dubbed the ‘’AccessSTEM pilot project’’ kicked off in four schools in the Eastern Region using BLUETOWN’s services, which provide comparatively low digital learning tools with solar-powered technology to work off-grid while providing more affordable internet than other service providers to underserved communities.
The Managing Director who doubles as Spokesperson of the Board of Directors at Siemens Stiftung, Dr. Nina Smidt said, ‘’This pilot supports the Sustainable Development Goals on ‘Quality Education’ (SDG4) and Industry, innovation and Infrastructure‘ (SDG9) by not only providing educational resources to a wider population, but also improving digital infrastructure to prepare students for the future job market. Such initiative bridge the learning gap exacerbated by the pandemic for students living in areas with no internet’’.
The Open Educational Resources content is modular and adaptable to country-specific needs. It will be made available on the local cloud and can be downloaded in areas with low internet connectivity. It aims to offer training and familiarize the materials to teachers from schools to ensure their optimal use in the learning process.
An ICT teacher with the Kibi Senior High Technical School, Matilda Jimatey explained that, ‘’the world is moving into digital stage. Access to STEM digital learning materials is just the right solution to challenges in teaching and learning. The launch saw an enthusiastic interest among teachers who welcomed it as an opportunity to gain knowledge’’.
Together with local partners, Siemens Stiftung is providing a range of teaching and learning materials for science and technology lessons focusing on vocational orientation in Ghana since 2019.
By joining forces with BLUETOWN, the foundation is bringing together expertise from its two working areas-Education and Social Entrepreneurship.
The project demonstrates that simple technological interventions from social enterprises can go a long way to provide globally developed educational resources for local impact.
On her part, the Special Projects Manager with BLUETOWN, Ann Fesu mentioned an agreement her outfit has established with the Education Ministry to expand connectivity solutions to 1,000 schools throughout the country. She said the collaboration with Siemens Stiftung complements its goals of improving education through digitalization.
