[Ghana] GIFEC brings ICT education to Nsawam prisoners

Inmates at the Nsawam Prisons are receiving training in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) from a training centre established by the Ghana Investment Fund For Electronic Communications (GIFEC).

GIFEC established the centre as part of its prisons connectivity project initiated in 2010, which has since set-up ICT Centres in 19 prisons across the country.

A tutor at the Nsawam Prisons ICT Centre, Assistant Superintendent of Prisons (ASP) Delali Dagadu, said inmates received basic English lessons before they were introduced to ICT.

He said they would be awarded National Vocational Training Institution (NVTI) Certificates upon successful completion of the course.

ASP Dagadu added that efforts were being made for inmates to pursue the Advanced Business Certificate Examination (ABCE), which is higher than the NVTI certificate.

Deputy Superintendent of Prisons (DSP) Charles Christian Clegg, who heads the ICT Centre, said the training centre was a significant addition to the reformation process for inmates, which he said will add to their employable skills.

Mr Kofi Attor, the Administrator of GIFEC, said the prisons connectivity project was born out of a realisation to redefine “deprived communities” to include prisons, adding that, the initiative would include the traditional reformation activities such as tailoring, carpentry, basketry and baking for beneficiaries.

     He expressed the hope that the ICT centre would contribute to reduce the number of released prisoners who go back to a life of crime.

     Mrs Matilda Baffour-Awuah, Director General of Prisons, indicated that formal education of prisoners was high on the reformation agenda, citing a single-storey classroom block nearing its completion in the prison.

     She called on corporate Ghana to assist the Prisons Service and urged them to avoid discrimination against convicted persons during employment.

   The Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communication is an agency under the Ministry of Communication, mandated to facilitate the distribution and access to electronic information and communications technology.

GNA