The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has disclosed that some senior high school students are using government-issued tablets to access pornographic material instead of study materials.
The devices, which are being distributed under the Free Senior High School (SHS) programme, are meant to support digital learning across the country.
“My attention this morning, Mr Speaker, was drawn to the fact that many of the devices are not customised and the students are using it for other purposes, including pornography, which is not acceptable,” he said on Thursday, November 28.
Speaking in Parliament, the minister explained that about 1.3 million tablets are expected to be distributed nationwide, with around 980,000 already deployed to schools.
He said the tablets are intended to give learners access to educational materials, including curriculum content uploaded onto the devices.
However, Mr Iddrisu told the House that some of the tablets delivered so far are not fully customised, allowing students to use them for activities unrelated to their studies.
“I inherited a contract with about 337 million US dollars where some 1.3 million tablets were to be distributed across the country to all free senior high schools in the country so that learners can have access to digital tools.”
“I’m told that the deployment of that is around 980,000. We are, through GETFund, supporting the distribution across the country,” he said.
The minister noted that he had been alerted to inappropriate use of the devices.
Mr Iddrisu stressed that government is taking the matter seriously and will introduce restrictions on how the tablets are used. “Government is taking a high view of it, and there must be restrictions as to what the tablets can be used for, and it should be used strictly for the purpose of study,” he told Parliament.
The minister pointed out that the devices were designed to support digital learning and also urged the country to invest more in digital education to ensure students remain competitive globally.
“The curriculum is offloaded onto the tablet. It will facilitate digital learning. We are to be mindful that when you are training students, you are training them to be globally competitive, and therefore, we have to take investment in digital skills and digital technology and its deployment much more seriously with increased investment,” he said.
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