A teacher in Ghana has received global admiration for his dedication as an educator after photos of him teaching a computer technology class in a classroom without any computers became a viral sensation.
One photo captures the teacher drawing features of the popular Microsoft Word Processing window on a blackboard using multi-colored chalk. Another photo shows students doing the same in their notebooks.
Richard Appiah Akoto, 33, is the teacher to thank for what’s in the photos. Akoto teaches information and communication technology (ICT) at Betenase M/A Junior High School in a rural town about two and half hours drive north of Ghana’s second largest city, Kumasi, reported Quartz.
According to Quartz, the high school has no computers, but their 14 and 15-year-old students have been sitting a national exam since 2011 that includes ICT as one of the subjects. The students need to pass the national exam in order to progress to high school.
Akoto, who has been teaching at the school for six years, posted his photos on Facebook under a nickname “Owura Kwadwo Hottish” on Feb. 15 with the caption “I love my students so have to do what will make them understand what [I] am teaching.”
Akoto told Quartz he didn’t expect it to garner so much attention. “This is not my first time [drawing] it. I have been doing it anytime I am in the classroom … I like posting pictures on Facebook so I just felt like [sharing it]. I didn’t know it would get the attention of people like that,” he said.
The photo has become a source of inspiration for some social media users. On Sunday, Rebecca Enonchong, the founder and owner of Appstech, retweeted the photo on Twitter calling the teacher a “hero.” She then reached out to Microsoft Africa asking them to provide the teacher with equipment to assist with his teaching.
This picture has been circulating on web. Does anyone know what country? This teacher is my hero. I want to find him. #TeachingIsAVocation pic.twitter.com/k7d0ysKrDj
— Rebecca Enonchong (@africatechie) February 25, 2018
Hey @MicrosoftAfrica, he’s teaching MS Word on a blackboard. Surely you can get him some proper resources. https://t.co/u8N3eXguXS
— Rebecca Enonchong (@africatechie) February 25, 2018
In response, the technology giant said they will send a computer to the ICT teacher.
Supporting teachers to enable digital transformation in education is at the core of what we do. We will equip Owura Kwadwo with a device from one of our partners, and access to our MCE program & free professional development resources on https://t.co/dJ6loRUOdg
— Microsoft Africa (@MicrosoftAfrica) February 27, 2018
“Supporting teachers to enable digital transformation in education is at the core of what we do. We will equip Owura Kwadwo with a device from one of our partners, and access to our MCE program & free professional development resources on,” Microsoft Africa tweeted on Feb. 27.
Akoto’s Facebook post has been liked over 3,700 times and has been shared over 1,600 times, as of March 1.
Many social media users have praised Akoto for his commitment to teaching.
The 33-year-old teacher has been dubbed an inspiration for other teachers in Africa where many government-owned schools lack resources and struggle with infrastructure and teaching logistics, reported Quartz. There have been calls for a national dialogue to work towards a fairer distribution system of resources to public rural schools such as Betenase Junior High.
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