450,000 free student tablets ready for distribution next week – Dr. Yaw Adutwum

These tablets are set to be distributed starting next week.

The distribution process has been meticulously organized into three phases to ensure the effective dissemination of a total of 1.3 million tablets to designated schools across the country.

This initiative stems from President Akufo-Addo's announcement on March 25, outlining the distribution of 1.3 million tablets to public Senior High School and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) students.

Speaking on JoyNews, Dr. Adutwum highlighted that this initiative, part of the Smart School Project, is integral to the government's digitization agenda for all sectors of the nation.

"The 450,000 is a little less than 30 %, the deployment is such that it is in three phases. The first phase which is hitting the regions and schools in the next coming week, is going to 32 schools in the 16 regions," Dr. Adutwum explained.

He further outlined the monitoring system put in place to ensure the efficient distribution of the tablets. "Once it gets to the school, there is a dashboard that informs us the tablets are here. The whole idea is to ensure that you will do a phased approach to deployment and don’t get the system overwhelmed," he emphasized.

Each student's tablet is equipped with a keyboard, functioning either as a laptop or solely as a tablet. Additionally, it comes with a power bank and a solar panel for charging, addressing concerns regarding erratic power supply.

Dr. Adutwum noted that plans involve gradually phasing out textbooks by integrating them into the tablets.

Furthermore, ICT Coordinators in schools have provided training to teachers and will continue to train schools receiving the tablets on their effective usage. Dr. Adutwum clarified that the unit price for each tablet is $250, contrary to misconceptions of it being GHS250.

The cost of the initial 450,000 tablets is estimated at 112 million cedis, with the entire 1.3 million tablets amounting to 337 million Ghana cedis. This initiative underscores the government's commitment to enhancing digital access and education for Ghanaian students.