\nPatricia Obo-Nai \u2014 CEO, Vodafon Ghana <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Ghana, Patricia Obo-Nai, has asked the government and private businesses to work together to improve access to the Internet.<\/h2>\n
The two parties must also make smart devices more affordable to improve distance education in Ghana.<\/p>\n
According to her, emerging technology had changed the concept of distance education, where students travelled from far locations to campuses, sometimes on weekends, to be taught.<\/p>\n
In a release issued in Accra yesterday, she said although times were changing, there was still a gap in access to internet connectivity and affordable smart devices.<\/p>\n
She was speaking at the 10th congregation of the Jackson College of Education, a teacher training college that operates by distance learning.<\/p>\n
Ms Obo-Nai said about 80 per cent of the 1,000 girls who signed up for Vodafone\u2019s free online coding course could not take part because they did not have smart devices or access to the Internet.<\/p>\n
\u201cDriving access to internet connectivity across Ghana should be a shared concern between the government and the private sector if we are to make significant strides in education.<\/p>\n
\u201cAccess to reliable internet connectivity in communities is now a necessity, equivalent to electricity and water, and collectively, we must make it happen,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She asked what the use of providing internet coverage across the country was if the people in the community did not have access to smart devices.<\/p>\n
\u201cAffordability is key. While we drive manufacturers to produce low-cost smart devices for Africa, we must reduce costs through the entire supply chain, even if it means assembling in Ghana and reducing the cost of imports.<\/p>\n