The Government has partnered with 11 leading universities in Ghana to integrate certifications under the One Million Coders Programme (OMCP) into degree and diploma programmes.
Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Hon. Samuel Nartey George, disclosed this during the Government Accountability Series at the Jubilee House in Accra.
According to the Minister, Memoranda of Understanding have been signed with the universities as part of efforts to deepen digital skills development and equip students with industry-relevant competencies alongside their traditional academic qualifications.
The institutions include the University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), Ghana Communication Technology University (GCTU) and University of Cape Coast (UCC), among others.
The partnership is expected to help bridge the gap between academic education and the practical digital skills increasingly demanded by the labour market.
Already, implementation is taking shape at some institutions. At KNUST, for instance, more than 1,000 students have enrolled in OMCP across four centres, including the Department of Computer Science and the Responsible Artificial Intelligence Lab.
The Minister said cybersecurity currently leads OMCP enrolment with 8,570 learners, followed by data analytics, AI Essentials, AI Professional and project management.
Government is also working with the Ministry of Education and Ghana Education Service to extend foundational digital skills training to students between the ages of 13 and 19, further expanding the programme’s reach into Ghana’s education system.