It shows the 33-year with a diagram of Microsoft Word on a blackboard, explaining the software to his students. Needless to say, it drew some attention, especially after Cameroonian tech entrepreneur Rebecca Enonchong tweeted Microsoft Africa. The Redmond giant has acknowledged Akoto, known on social media as Owura Kwadowo, and will give him the necessary tools.
— Microsoft Africa (@MicrosoftAfrica) February 27, 2018 “Supporting teachers to enable digital transformation in education is at the core of what we do,” said Microsoft. “We will equip Owura Kwadwo with a device from one of our partners, and access to our MCE program & free professional development resources on http://education.microsoft.com“ According to Quartz, Akoto has a personal computer, but it’s different to the official syllabus. The students must learn about the process in a desktop-oriented fashion, from connecting a monitor to using its programs.
A Good Start
Equipping Akoto with a PC will undoubtedly be helpful, but the teacher says he really needs more to do his job. He believes his school needs around 50 computers to give his students a true chance of passing their exams. Unfortunately, Akoto is just one such example in Ghana, which has long-struggled with funding for its public school system. The issue is magnified when considering rural areas, which tend to struggle with resources due to infrastructure. Unfortunately, that’s not a problem that can be fixed overnight, or by Microsoft. The Ministry of education has made efforts to support ICT, with most secondary schools housing computers of some kind. For primary schools, things remain a little shaky, but the popularity of Akoto’s post shows that it’s at least on people’s minds.
