Abstract:
In order to be productive members of African society, as well as responsible world citizens, the
continent’s next generation of leaders requires a full suite of knowledge and skills to compete in national, international,
and global markets. The core of this knowledge base rests in the STEM and STEAM fields (Science,
Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics). The technology component - through ICT (Internet Computing
Technology) - fosters research, discovery, communication, collaboration, and idea exchange among
the other disciplines. It enables individuals to conduct business globally; and on local and national levels,
leveraging myriad aspects of socio-economic and cultural prosperity. ICT literacy is mandated for all primary
and secondary school students both by the African Deans Education Forum (“ADEF”) and UNESCO’s EFA
(Education for All) goals for the African diaspora, as well as by the local Ministries of Education; however, resources
and funding are limited with larger funding appropriations allocated to urban areas with pre-existing
infrastructure. Thus, schools in rural, underserved communities present special situations relative to meeting
the mandate due to insufficient or non-existent infrastructure, access, and training that requires ancillary
initiatives over and above those currently provided in order to insure educational equality with their urban
counterparts. This paper presents a synthesis of the issues and indicators systems causing the disenfranchisement
in rural and underserved communities of Ghana in ICT deployment and usage. Consequently, the
authors developed a framework of strategies to address and correct the issue of disenfranchisement in ICT
literacy and proficiency in Ghana’s rural primary and secondary schools.
