E-learning initiative to get SHS students home busy

An alternative e-learning platform has been rolled to facilitate teaching and learning for form one and two senior high school students following the directive by the government to close down all schools to contain and prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The students will have the opportunity to take prescribed subjects by the Ghana Education Service including Mathematics, English, Science, Social Studies and French for free in the comfort of their homes.

Open to all Ghanaian students, the initiative is being made possible jointly by Vivo Energy Ghana, the African Business Centre for Developing Education (ABCDE) and eCampus Ghana.

Mr Clifford Tetteh, the National Coordinator of ABCDE, who disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Wednesday, explained that the platform had been designed in an interactive manner to enable students to test against various benchmarks and obtain instant results as well as serve as guidance for self-improvement.

He said for a student to get connected, they would need to download the eCampus Application at http://eCampus.com.gh, sign up with referral code VIVOABCDE and then search for SHS and subscribe.

Mr Tetteh said the move was also part of the efforts to promote Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics among students, especially females to train many in those fields.

He said the application contains the syllabus being used in schools and served as a very useful tool in ensuring that the process of learning was not interrupted while at home.

Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, the Executive Director of ABCDE, expressed the optimism that the e-learning platform would offer an alternative learning opportunity to students while helping to ensure that students put their time to good use.

Speaking on the partnership, Mr Ben Hassan Ouattara, the Managing Director of Vivo Energy Ghana, encouraged students to take advantage of this opportunity to undertake further studies on the portal during this period.

“I want to urge all students, especially those at home, to fill the knowledge gap during this time. The partnership gives senior high school students a week free trial after which the first 500 students will be sponsored by Vivo Energy Ghana for one-year full access,” he added.

The government last Sunday stepped up measures against coronavirus spread in the country, suspending all public gatherings for the next four weeks, as eleven persons so far tested positive for the disease.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in a televised address to give an update on measures being taken by government to fight the virus directed that all public gatherings including conferences, workshops, funerals, festivals, political rallies, sporting events, and religious events have been suspended for four weeks.

He also ordered the closure of all educational institutions, both public and private, until further notice, starting from Monday, March 16, 2020, tasking the Education and Communication Ministries to roll out distance learning protocols for the schools.

However, BECE and WASSCE candidates would be allowed to attend school to prepare for their examinations with the observance of the prescribed social distancing protocols.
GNA