The Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has expressed serious concern that some Senior High School (SHS) students are using government-issued tablets to access pornographic content.
Raising the issue on the floor of Parliament, the Minister revealed that out of 1.3 million tablets procured for students, nearly 980,000 have been distributed.
He stated, however, that many of these devices have not been properly locked down, allowing students to use them for non-academic purposes.
“My attention this morning, Mr. Speaker, was drawn to the fact that many of the devices are not customized and the students are using them for other purposes, including pornography, which is not acceptable,” Iddrisu told the house.
According to him, the tablets are a key part of the government’s Free SHS policy, intended to provide digital learning tools to students.
He explained that the curriculum is pre-loaded onto the devices to help facilitate modern education.
The Minister emphasised that the government is taking a “high view” of the situation and will impose immediate restrictions on the tablets.
He stated that the devices must be used strictly for academic purposes.
Haruna Iddrisu noted that he inherited a contract worth about $337 million for the procurement and distribution of the 1.3 million tablets.
He confirmed that the distribution across the country is currently ongoing.
“We have to take investment in digital skills and digital technology and its deployment much more seriously,” he said, adding that the goal is to train students to be “globally competitive.”
By: Jacob Aggrey
