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As part of contribution towards bridging the digital gap in rural communities, Loozeele Initiative, a Non-Governmental Organization has inaugurated a multipurpose resource center at Sherigu in the Bolgatanga Municipality.
The Loozeele Resource Center is stocked with 40 laptop computers and 10 tablets, and it is expected to serve about 11 schools including the Sherigu Senior High School, the only second cycle institution within the catchment area. The objective of the Center is to empower young people especially pupils and students in the Upper East Region and Northern Ghana with digital skills and knowledge to enable them to succeed in the increasingly technology-driven world.
It is also expected to enhance the teaching and learning of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) subject in the basic schools by offering opportunities for the schools to use the facility for practical sessions. The facility had funding from the MasterCard Foundation. Loozeele Initiative is a community initiative aimed at addressing rural-urban migration particularly among girls in the Upper East Region through skills acquisition, education and employment opportunities. Ms. Teni Agana, the Managing Director of the Loozeele Resource Center, explained that technology was revolutionizing the world and there was the need to empower children and young people in rural communities with competencies to be able compete favorably.
Apart from the facility, she said, mobile service would also be offered where a vehicle would be made available to carry the computers to schools that were at a distance for them to also benefit. “The Center will serve both low-cost private schools and public schools where the pupils and students are able to come to the center to learn practically whatever that was implemented in the classrooms,” she said. Ms. Agana explained that as part of enhancing Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in the area, plans were in place to establish a robotic center as part of the Loozeele Resource Center to offer education to the young people.
The Managing Director noted that the Loozeele Resource Center would also offer as a career training center for young people on how to choose their careers and have access to educational opportunities including scholarships and would collaborate with tertiary institutions such as University of Ghana and Ashesi University to offer mentorship programmes for the young people. She added that the center would engage women entrepreneurs in the communities to market their products to attract high markets by teaching them how to use social media to promote their products.
Ms. Agana, who is also a native of the Sherigu community indicated that the establishment of the Center was part of her efforts to contribute to improving education in the area and called for support from the community to achieve the objectives. As part of the Loozeele Initiative, a basic school, Loozeele Excellence Academy, had been established and since 2023, the population has increased from 100 to 400 pupils, ranging from Nursery to Primary five.
She commended the MasterCard Foundation and the Ashesi University where she completed her tertiary education for the support and platform to fulfil her dream of contributing to quality education in her community. Mr. Johnson Asuah Ayamga, the Head teacher of Loozeele Excellence Academy, noted that the opening of the Resource Center was a great relief as it would propel teaching and learning of the ICT subject and enhance better understanding among the pupils. Mr. Joel Adamu Issaka, a teacher at the Sherigu Senior High School indicated that the Loozeele Resource Center had come at the right time as the students would have access to computers to do research and engage in practical lessons.
Source: GNA
