GES to end distribution of SHS teachers TM1 laptops Friday

The first phase distribution of the controversial TM1 laptops to SHS teachers in the country is expected to end Friday, December 17, 2021, the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) Prof Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa has said.

Speaking to journalists on Monday, the GES Director-General said the second and third phases of the government teachers laptops distribution process will commence next year when the 2022 academic year start in January.

In a statement copied to EducationWeb.com.gh, the Professor said 80% of the 62,000 laptops as of December 10, 2021, have been delivered to qualified and eligible Senior High School teachers across the regions in the country.

Professor Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa said the second and third phases will see both public Junior High and primary school teachers across the country receive their brand new state of unparalleled all-day battery life laptops.

“TM1 is a world-class laptop built to inspire learning and superior performance. It is provisioned with a custom-built desktop application that delivers electronic learning and teaching content in a user-friendly electronic format

This makes learning fun and enables equitable access to teaching resources needed by teachers in rural and urban areas. TM1 is every learner’s companion at an exceptional value,” the GES official told the media on December 14.

He handing over the laptops to teachers in Accra-based O’Reilly Senior High School discounted the perception that the TM 1 Laptops are of poor quality simply because they were not coming from any of the known brands of computers.

Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia on behalf of the Akufo-Addo led administration launched the ‘One teacher, One laptop’ as part of its efforts to improve the requisite ICT skills of teachers in the country on September 3, 2021.

The President’s right-hand man in his address at the event underscored that effective teaching and learning is critical to developing the human capacity for work, innovation and creativity; necessary ingredients for capacity building.

“This initiative, in collaboration with the Teacher Unions, is to support the vision of Ghana Education Service (GES) of creating an enabling environment to facilitate effective teaching and learning,” His Excellency Bawumia stated.

He indicated the laptops are preloaded with educational materials and with access to an E-Library equipped with books recommended by the Management of the Ghana Education Service (GES) on the various subjects.

The educational materials, His excellency the Vice President, Dr Mahamadu Bawumia. noted can be accessed whether online or offline and with free Wi-Fi available in all the 722 Senior High Schools (SHSs) across the country.