Telcos Chamber calls for new partners to join Coding Caravan
By Selorm GBORBIDZI, Accra
The Chief Executive of the Ghana Telecommunications Chamber, Ing. Kenneth Ashigbey, has appealed for support from corporate Ghana to enable the Chamber extend its ICT Training Programme for students, the Coding Caravan, to parts of the country that are far off from the capital, Accra.
Dr Ashigbey said the plan of the Institute of Information Communication Technology Professionals Ghana (IIPGH), and the Chamber is to run one-day clinics in as many districts as possible, but due to a desire to be monetarily responsible, taking these clinics to other regions, which are far off from the captial, would be a challenge.
He explained, “we want to get to a stage where a child that we are training today can come up with a solution to deal with a challenge that surrounds them. We have been focused on doing this in the communities and environments where as a Chamber and our partners, we can return, because we want to spend the majority of our money not on our boarding and lodging, but rather on teaching the kids.”
He continued, “any corporate body who wants, we can show you the proof of concept. We can show you how it is done, and the impact. You don’t need to give the money to us. You can decide to sponsor a community of your choice, we’ll bring the volunteers and partners, and we’ll come to your community and deliver this course.”
The Coding Caravan saw the team from IIPGh teach about 200 students and 50 teachers in the Shai Osudoku District how to code using the open source electronic prototyping platform, Aduino. Through this they introcduced the children to the Internet of Things (IoT).
The District Education Director for the Shai osudoku District, Harriet Lomotey, advised the students to take the tutorials seriously ,as it has the potential of elevating their future prospects. She urged them to employ innovation to their work as they embark on the coding journey.
She expressed hope that the programme will be sustained to enable more students to participate and find their way into the world of information technology.
Coding Supervisor at IIPGH, Deborah Ofori-Dartey, explained that the coding education initiative was birthed in 2021 in recognition of the need to extend IT opportunities to students, particularly those from underprivileged backgrounds.
The Apedwahemaa of Asamankese, Nana Yaa Amoah Bediako, advised the students to take the opportunity to learn something new and not waste their time on social media.
