Necessity they say is the mother of all inventions. If this statement was true when Plato said it centuries past, then thanks to Corona Virus, it has proven to be even truer.
In the year 2020, the world has been forced to make adjustments in many facets of life to be able to survive a global pandemic that has shaken humanity at its very core, every aspect of life has been affected. Precious lives have been lost, students have been asked to stay home, religious organizations have been asked to congregate in record low numbers, meeting at record low duration after months of a total ban on the congregation and on the back of a tall list of dos and don’ts that makes you question the essence of congregating.
Smart businesses have adapted and used the internet to get work ongoing at the comfort of the respective homes of workers whose physical presence is not always needed at the office to get the job done.
If any sector has adapted to this situation so well, then it is the education sector. Lectures are taking place online, assignments and examinations have not to be exempted, little to zero human contact but knowledge is being impacted effectively.
Unfortunately, this has been largely limited to higher education with Senior High and Basic Schools left out in Ghana.
To bridge this gap, Laweh University, the very first accredited Open University in Ghana and second in West Africa has taken ICT-driven education to a notch higher with the introduction of Open High School.
The Laweh International School-LAWIS, the very first online-based High School in West Africa is a collaboration between the institution and US-based EdOptions Academy and hence the curriculum will be based on America High School programmes.
Launching the programme before the media, President of the University, Prof Goski Alabi indicated that the institution “also has the required resources to support West African Examination, British IGSCE and A-Level Curriculum.
She added: “students of this novel method of instruction will engage with their classmates both online and offline through interactive project-based learning, global leadership track, clubs, study abroad and social opportunities.
“The American High School Diploma is accepted for entry into any University in the world and hence provides students countless options in their quest to pursue a university education.
She also added that the program provides flexibility for Senior High School students in Ghana to roll on their credit and continue from the exact stage they left their schools.
Concluding her address, she called on the government to make effort to ensure that cost of internet data is reduced for learning purposes. She intimated that with a proper access to internet, a return to school should never have been on the agenda at the time it was allowed.
Isaac Kyei Andoh