Ghana to deliver 60,000 laptops to schools

In an effort to expand the educational resources available to its students, the Ghanaian government has announced it will distribute 60,000 laptops to schools throughout the country.

Betty Mould Iddrisu, Ghana's minister of education, announced the plan as part of the government's Basic School Computerization Project, which is designed to ensure that Ghanaian children grow up computer literate in an increasingly digital world.

Iddrisu says the Ghanaian government is focusing on bringing information and communications technology (ICT) education to not only students, but to teachers as well. In addition to providing laptops to students in basic and senior high schools, the government is designing a training program for educators in basic schools.

This isn't the first laptop program launched by the Ghanaian government. In March 2011, the government distributed 3,000 laptops to beneficiary schools as part of its Mathematics, Science and Technology Scholarship Scheme, local news provider the Daily Graphic reports.

A study from education researchers the Milken Family Foundation shows that students tend to learn more in less time when receiving computer-based instructions. Additionally, technology in the classroom helps students develop more positive attitudes toward learning, the study says.