The COVID-19 has resulted in schools shut all across the world. Globally, over 1.2 billion children are out of the classroom. As a result, education has changed dramatically, with the distinctive rise of e-learning, whereby teaching is undertaken remotely and on digital platforms.
As at 27th July 2020, Ghana had recorded 29,494 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Health experts have predicted that there will be an upsurge in the number of confirmed cases in the coming weeks due to increased testing. This implies that the closure of the schools might extend to a longer period than expected. The closure of schools in Ghana has affected close to 8 million students at all levels of the education ladder especially in rural communities. To mitigate the impact of the closure of schools and ensure continuity in learning coupled with prior experience from previous pandemics in other countries, government through the Ministry of Education rolled out different forms of interventions.
These include providing free online library services, and online learning platform (icampusgh.com). Despite these efforts by the Ministry, our development trajectory has made it practically impossible for all students to benefit fully from these interventions. The online learning platforms is only available to those who have access to internet data, smartphones, tablets and computers, which leaves out a large number of students who lack access to these technologies. Even students with them, high costs of internet data can mitigate their access to learning.
As a result, many rural children who have little to no access to digital tools will find themselves stuck at the periphery of the educational system while their more privileged colleagues continue to learn. We can confidently say that the existing physical structures in the education systems in Ghana are not designed to support emerging educational technologies. Many of our systems are constrained by ICT infrastructure such as poor network security, inadequate wireless technologies and low-speed internet bandwidths, as well as ineffective infrastructure management to ensure contributions of technology as a means to improving student learning.
Most students living in the Ho West of the Volta region are without reliable internet access and/or technology struggle to participate in digital learning; this gap is seen across the region and between income brackets within the country. Due to the level of poverty in the region, many parents are unable to afford the high cost of internet data and computers to enable their children to access the online educational platforms.
While some schools and governments have been providing digital equipment to students in need, many are still concerned that the pandemic will widen the digital divide. Drop-out rates across the globe are likely to rise as a result of this massive disruption to education access.
Echoing the leading principle of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to ‘leave no one behind,’ and SDG 4 that aims to ‘ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all,’ there is the need for a program that seeks to ensure that no child is left behind during this period as well as facilitate strategies to support continued learning for children taking into consideration the needs of the poorest and most marginalized children. This will ensure that all children benefit and are able to continue with their learning. Dream Africa Volunteer Service is taking up the challenge to provide rural children access to online platforms during this season of COVID-19 pandemic.