As part of Ghana’s 2020 annual Cyber-security awareness activities slated for the month of October, the Ministry of Communication through the National Cybersecurity Center has dedicated October 6, to educate stakeholders on cyber hygiene, the best practices for school children.
Acting Director for the ICT department at the Ministry of Education (MoE), Mr. Tony Baffour speaking to Univernews monitored by Talksafrica.com bemoaned the vulnerability of children in the area of Cyber-security
He said it has become necessary for stakeholders to champion the awareness of best cyber hygiene practices in schools across the country.
He disclosed amongst other initiatives that, the 2014 Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policy for schools are currently under review with a digital literacy program set to be launched.
“Ghana has adopted the United Nations safe school policy and at the ministry of education, we are in the process of putting together the safe school policy. In addition, our 2014 ICT policy has clearly become unfit for purpose because it did not address these important issues. With support from UNESCO and also Ghana accountability for learning outcomes project, we are reviewing our ICT policy in this direction. We are also rolling out our digital literacy project in all schools.” He said.
Adding to that, Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social protection’s representative, in his remarks admonished school children to stay smart when using the internet and thus should desist from sharing personal information with strangers online.
The Gender Ministry’s representative further called on parents and religious leaders to ensure that children are guided when using the internet.
He added that the protection of their wards from cyber perpetrators must be a prime concern.
“Parents, religious leaders, and all stakeholders we must all see to the protection and interest of our young ones from perpetrators by assisting them when they are using the internet and lending them our ears when they want to tell us something. A digital literate parent must ensure they build their skill to understand the dangers of the internet so that they can assist them when they are using the internet.” He reiterated.
The next event which is scheduled for Wednesday, October 7, will address cyber hygiene best practices for parents and guardians.
TalkS Africa 