Communications Minister Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has disclosed that government will be launching free Wi-Fi for senior high schools (SHS) from next month.

This, she said, is part of government’s initiative to bridge the digital skills gap and the gap in the information communication technology (ICT) sector.

According to her, the use of technology by many sectors of the economy due to the outbreak of COVID-19 has exposed Ghana's lack of available skills in the ICT sector.

This is putting a huge demand on government to improve upon skills training in the country. 

To this end, the Minister for Communications has begun a call for action processes to ensure that the skills gap in the sector is bridged.

Speaking at the 2020 Annual Girls in ICT day climax from the Oti Region, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful also stated that government will be deploying rural telephony to all rural areas that have no access to the internet.

"As the pandemic broke out, we have seen that the most important aspect of our lives is in ICT. The challenge, however, is the existence of some huge skills gap which we have to check and work on as soon as possible. Government will be launching the free Wi-Fi for senior high schools from next month even though the schools are on break," she noted.

The National Girls in ICT day is an initiative of the International Telecommunications Union for all member states.

Ghana has been celebrating the event since 2012 with improved programmes.

This year's event from the Oti region is the 10th Edition.