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Microsoft Vows to Send Ghana’s Blackboard ICT Teacher a Real PC

Microsoft Africa has decided to gift Ghana teacher Richard Appiah Akoto with a computer and teaching resources after an image of him teaching Microsoft Word on a blackboard went viral. Akoto says the school needs a further 50 computers to fully reach its potential.

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Teaching ICT without a computer sounds crazy, but its reality for some in Ghana. This fact was made clear last week when teacher Richard Appiah Akoto posted an image on social media last week.

It shows the 33-year with a diagram of Word on a blackboard, explaining the software to his students. Needless to say, it drew some attention, especially after Cameroonian tech entrepreneur Rebecca Enonchong tweeted Microsoft Africa.

The Redmond giant has acknowledged Akoto, known on social media as Owura Kwadowo, and will give him the necessary tools.

“Supporting teachers to enable digital transformation in education is at the core of what we do,” said Microsoft. “We will equip Owura Kwadwo with a device from one of our partners, and access to our MCE program & free professional development resources on http://education.microsoft.com

According to Quartz, Akoto has a personal computer, but it's different to the official syllabus. The students must learn about the process in a desktop-oriented fashion, from connecting a monitor to using its programs.

A Good Start

Equipping Akoto with a PC will undoubtedly be helpful, but the teacher says he really needs more to do his job. He believes his school needs around 50 computers to give his students a true chance of passing their exams.

Unfortunately, Akoto is just one such example in Ghana, which has long-struggled with funding for its public school system. The issue is magnified when considering rural areas, which tend to struggle with resources due to infrastructure.

Unfortunately, that's not a problem that can be fixed overnight, or by Microsoft. The Ministry of education has made efforts to support ICT, with most secondary schools housing computers of some kind.

For primary schools, things remain a little shaky, but the popularity of Akoto's post shows that it's at least on people's minds.

SourceMicrosoft
Ryan Maskell
Ryan Maskellhttps://ryanmaskell.co.uk
Ryan has had a passion for gaming and technology since early childhood. Fusing the skills from his Creative Writing and Publishing degree with profound technical knowledge, he enjoys covering news about Microsoft. As an avid writer, he is also working on his debut novel.

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