Non-Formal Education Division (NFED) of the Ministry of Education on Wednesday held the 55th International Literacy Day, at Techiman, the Bono East regional capital.
It was held on the theme “Complementary education for human development in COVID -19 era: The role of digital literacy”, with focus on the role of educators and changing teaching structures.
The Deputy Minister of Education, Mrs Gifty Twum-Ampofo, said the day should be an opportunity to reflect on what had been achieved by nations, and what remained to be done to ensure educational objectives under Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were achieved.
Mrs Twum-Ampofo emphasised that the acquisition of digital literacy demanded an effective reading and writing skills, the integration of digital skills into literacy programmes , current technology and teaching approaches among others.
“It is the vision of my ministry to transform the education sector to enable it address national challenges, through complementary education and training,” the Deputy Minister assured.
Mrs Twum-Ampofo urged the NFED to deploy different learning arrangements for its target groups, in order to deliver the best education for the country saying that “I thank the NFED and other complementary education providers in the country to reduce illiteracy”.
The Bono East Regional Minister, Mr Adu Gyan, said digital literacy was the vision of the government of President Akufo-Addo to change the structure of the economy through digitisation, to ensure efficiency and inclusiveness in the delivery of services.
Mr Gyan reiterated the role of literacy as path to human development and the means through which people could realise their potentials adding that “the Regional Coordinating Council and I are behind the activities of NFED in the Bono East Region”.
“As stakeholders, let us show commitment to creating a literate society which would enable the individual to function effectively within households, communities and the country in general”, the Regional Minister urged.
Mr Gyan was positive that the country would be able to achieve the targets of SDG four, which talk about quality education.
The Regional Minister noted that “young persons must achieve literacy and numeracy skills while adults who lack these skills must be given the opportunity to achieve them even in the midst of COVID-19”.
Mr Nicolas Ameyaw, the Regional Director of NFED, was optimistic the rebranding of his outfits to complement education in the country, would create the motivation and avenues for national development.
He solicited support from institutions and NGOs for the activities of NFED, especially remedial classes for underprivileged Junior High School students in the Bono, Ahafo and Bono East regions.
FROM EMMANUEL ADU GYAMFI, TECHIMAN
