Let’s allow, guide students to use smart phones in schools

Dr Kenneth Asamoah Gyimah, Senior Lecturer, Department of Education and Psychology, University of Cape Coast, says students should be allowed but guided to use smart phones to facilitate learning in basic schools.

He said education was undergoing transformation hence allowing students to use phones would open them up to a lot of things as they researched and expanded their intellectual frontiers.

Dr Gyimah said this to the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of Wesley College of Education’s Armstrong/ Amissah memorial lectures in Accra.

The lecture forms part of the commemoration of the College’s centenary anniversary celebrations.

The lecture was on the theme, “Shaping Ghana’s Educational Transformation: The Role of Wesley College.”

Dr Gyimah advised parents to also guide their wards to use their phones to learn and research at home.

He said phones and computers should not be seen as objects of distraction for children, but tools that facilitated their studies.

Dr Gyimah urged the public to fully embrace educational transformation in the country, especially in the rollout of the Standard-Based Curriculum in schools.

“Reforms in education are critical to equitable and inclusive education, and improve teaching and learning outcomes,” he stressed.

He said educational reforms should place much emphasis on developing students’ skills and competences and not just on passing examinations.

“Placing too much emphasis on external examination performance is what often leads to the various malpractice.”

“However, when emphasis is placed more on improving students performance and capacities these malpractices canker would be addressed,” he added.

Wesley College of Education, Kumasi was established by the Methodist Church Ghana in 1922 to offer training for the Church’s workers then.

The College currently, has a student population of 1,254 and 92 staff.