By Amin Kef Sesay
It has been established that the Africell mobile company is a leading network service provider in the country, not only for its expansion, but importantly for the quality service and the number of subscribers and institutions using its service across the country.
The Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE),it could be recalled, recently concluded the 2019 annual school census during which it came out vividly that nine thousand six hundred and forty (9,640) schools reported that they do enjoy mobile telephone network coverage in the country.
The data collection was indeed very comprehensive as it includes the number of schools in each level of education and number of pupils by regions, districts, chiefdoms, number of teaching and non-teaching staff, with years of experience of teachers and qualifications, photos of school infrastructure and facilities including their state of use, teacher photo verification, location of schools with the use of GPS, standards of WaSH facilities and the level of telephone connectivity in each school.
It was recorded and captured that 47% percent of the aforementioned figure use Africell network service regularly.
The underlying reason, which a conducted analysis revealed is that many, private or public, prefer the Africell network simply because the company’s subscribers want value for their money. What this census data manifests is that Africell is indeed providing quality service in terms of uninterrupted internet service in addition to the several promotions churned out for the benefit of its subscribers over the years.
The Ministry of Education census mentioned not only the availability of the mobile telephone network coverage but also the type of service provider around the school area. The census analysis by district also provided an opportunity to get knowledge of which district in the country has a high coverage of network and connectivity.
The data shows that there is generally high network coverage in the schools ranging from 38% in Falaba district to 98% in the entire Western region.
The report further shows that five out of the sixteen districts have 90% and more mobile network coverage in schools within their districts. The report states that the knowledge and introduction of information communication in schools will help improve the learning outcomes especially in this digital age where everything is done using computers.
“The census report shows that majority of schools in the country accounting for 86% reported having mobile network coverage in their schools compared to 14% that says they had no mobile network coverage,” the report states.
From the commencement of operations in the country in 2001, Africell has stood the test of time to compete in the telecommunications industry with an enhanced, qualitative and reliable network, fast internet service, low data tariff and expansion of coverage among others.
Undoubtedly, Africell mobile company deserves the numerous accolades that it has bagged as the leading mobile service provider in this country.
