At 11:00 AM on July 6, 2023, students at Accra Academy, one of Ghana’s prestigious senior high schools, struggled with frustration in the ICT lab as the message “No internet access” flashed on their screens. Instablog Ghana, monitoring an investigative report released by The Fourth Estate, highlighted this scene as part of the broader issue plaguing the government’s Wi-Fi for Schools program. Initially, the program provided seamless internet access, but it faltered after just one year. Headmaster Emmanuel Ofie Fiemawhle explained that despite numerous complaints about the unstable service, the internet eventually ceased altogether. Currently, only the school’s administration, supported by the Old Students Association, maintains internet access.
Similar issues affect Labone SHS and Bolgatanga SHS. Labone SHS, although equipped with government-installed IT infrastructure, has never had working internet and relies on Telecel Ghana’s service, which only covers the administrative block. Bolgatanga SHS, despite having an E-learning center intended for virtual learning and teacher research, lost its Wi-Fi connectivity a year after opening, forcing staff to use mobile data and impacting their participation in academic competitions.
Despite repeated complaints to the Ghana Education Service and Ministry of Education, no solutions have been provided. The free Wi-Fi for Schools program, launched in February 2020 by Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, aimed to bridge the technology gap and enhance learning through internet access. By February 2024, over 1,000 institutions were reportedly connected, but many schools, though supposedly connected, have seen no benefit.
Investigations by The Fourth Estate uncovered that despite schools like Accra Academy, Labone SHS, and Bolgatanga Girls being without internet for up to 24 months, Lifted Logistics invoiced and received payments for these services. This was true for several other schools as well. Africa Education Watch’s research found 107 out of 150 schools lacked internet service, despite being part of the program.
Divine Kpe of Eduwatch called for an investigation, highlighting that Ghana seems to be paying for a non-existent service, urging the Auditor-General to scrutinize the project. The Fourth Estate’s inquiries led to Nana Gyamfi Adwabour of the Centre for National Distance Learning and Open Schooling, who admitted that real-time monitoring began only in September 2023, well after the project’s launch. He acknowledged the need to review monitoring mechanisms to protect public funds.
A crucial contract clause stated that if Busy Internet, the original service provider, failed to deliver services for 15 days, no payment would be made. However, this clause was breached, with some schools lacking internet for up to two years. Rev. Fr. Stephen Owusu Sekyere of Opoku Ware Senior High School emphasized the detrimental impact on education, noting his school had been offline for over a month.
When The Fourth Estate presented a list of 53 schools without internet from 2020 to July 2023 to Lifted Logistics, the company did not provide any information, attributing it to Busy Internet’s suspended operations. However, Lifted Logistics had acquired Busy Internet in 2018, a year before the contract was awarded, making this excuse invalid.
Despite multiple requests, the Ministry of Education has not provided a monthly breakdown of payments made to Busy Internet since January 2020. Lifted Logistics’ Dickinson Agyapong Bempa falsely claimed no bills were presented for non-service months. Parliamentary records show GHC56 million paid for supposed services from January to September 2023, during which The Fourth Estate found internet non-functional in 48 out of 50 schools visited.
The persistent lack of internet access, despite substantial government expenditure, raises serious concerns about the project’s implementation and oversight. The situation calls for urgent action to ensure accountability and restore internet services to enhance educational outcomes across Ghanaian schools.
