Vodafone Ghana and Educators International (EI) have launched ‘Phonics by Phone Project’, a mobile application, as part of efforts to empower majority of teachers in the education sector.

Compatible with normal mobile phones, the ‘Phonics by Phone Project’ under Vodafone’s Mobile for Good inventiveness, equips teachers to help children build sounds into words, and remember them through rhymes, songs, riddles and games.

Commenting on the app, Nana Yaa Afriyie Ofori-Koree, Foundation and Sustainability Manager at Vodafone Ghana said:

“In Ghana, only 2% of school children by end of Primary Two can read fluently; whereas in the UK the figure is over 80%. The difference is startling and Vodafone wants to create a platform that will help correct this predicament. Education holds the lifeline to the advancement of every economy and we are determined to be at the forefront of this drive.”

The mobile “app” will give educational institutions the opportunity to receive phonics training in order to train their students to embrace the concept in a unique way.

Michael Stark, an Educators International Trustee said:

“The GHÈ»50,000 grant by Vodafone Foundation has enabled us to prepare a set of audio units which together will create a full course content for the app. We have also developed a site www.phonicsghana.mobi which is optimised for ordinary and smart phones alike. This way, the city and village teachers can enjoy the same educational package”.