The Leyden Educational Foundation in collaboration with Alison, a free online education platform is targeting to train 2,000 young people in Ghana each year through an integrated competency-based online learning program.
The aim is to equip them with work-based and entrepreneurial skills to help reduce the rate of youth unemployment in the country.
The program was launched on Monday, February 14, 2022 at the University of Ghana, Legon under the theme, ‘Developing Employable Skills through Integrated Online Learning’.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of Leyden Educational Foundation, Dr. James Owusu, said the training will be tailored to meet the needs of the local community in line with the government’s economic agenda.
“A skill gap analysis will be done to identify the skill needs within the local area”, he explained.
The Integrated Online Learning Program (IOLP) is tuition-free and includes courses that offer qualifications to a vast number of people, especially those who would not otherwise be able to afford their desired courses.
This is to say that the program gives equal opportunity to the underprivileged to obtain qualifications, as long as potential participants have the resources for access.
Leyden Foundation and Alison have thus collaborated with the University of Ghana Computer Systems to run the courses to enable young people who lack access to computers, the internet, and electricity to take advantage of the program.
Students of the school can now visit the Information Access Center (IAC) on campus to study the courses.
Lamenting the high rate of unemployment in the country, the Executive Director said it was needful for government to adopt innovative and creative ways to transform the education system into one which would focus on providing young people with the appropriate skills for employment, even at the most basic level.
“We know that an education system that places undue emphasis on rote learning cannot produce the innovators, critical thinkers, and problem-solvers Africa needs for economic transformation”, he stated.
Dr. Owusu further said that “Making smart and effective investments in people’s education is critical for developing the human capital that will end extreme poverty.”
“At the core of this strategy is the need to tackle the learning crisis that is being faced by most African countries, especially within the sub-Saharan continent”.
He also said that graduates must have sufficient skills in areas that offer the greatest comparative advantage, adding that these should be trained to adapt to future growth sectors.
Dr. Owusu stated that even though specialized skills such as engineering are needed to drive and sustain economic transformation, a study conducted by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation has shown that Africa has the lowest share of engineering graduates in the world.
He thus commended the government for recently launching a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Academy, an initiative he believes would help in addressing this challenge.
Dr. Owusu urged Ghanaian youth to continue to “upscale and rescale” themselves through the IOLP.
The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, speaking as the special guest of honour at the event, said that e-learning makes room for inclusive education.
He also stated that even though the government’s initiative to revolutionize teaching and learning has faced several challenges, it was still needful “to appropriate human resources to implement e-learning initiatives”.
“It is a feasible and economically appropriate means of extended quality education”.
Dr. Bawumia said that integrated online learning saves time and energy as it enables learners to access contents anywhere.
It is also cost-effective and allows learners to navigate at their own pace.
The Vice President stated that the program would serve as a tool for eliminating unemployment, and hence congratulated the Chief Executive Officer of Alison for partnering with Leyden Foundation to provide 3,000 free courses for the youth and professionals.
He said that the government is committed to putting measures in place to enhance e-learning, and thus called on all stakeholders to support the Integrated Online Learning Program which was being launched.
