Voices of Africa

Zimbabwe’s educational system, once a shining example for the entire African continent, is now struggling with severe problems: At the beginning of 2009, the country experienced a fierce battle between teachers and the government. Teachers were not able to make a living, the majority of schools closed and school fees shot up. Although there are signs of a slight improvement, many difficulties remain – above all financial issues. How does eLearning work in such a setting? In the interview below, Eliada Gudza, Executive Director of World Links Zimbabwe and a member of the eLearning Africa Organising Committee, describes the status of technology-driven education in his country. It seems that a great deal of energy and enthusiasm is still being expended to make eLearning resources available for education, including schools, higher education, and vocational training – despite the many problems Zimbabwe faces.
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In his role as Africa Regional Director for the Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative (GeSCI), Alex Twinomugisha helps to empower African countries to develop strategies for the proper use of ICT in education to promote their overall development. In the following interview, Nairobi-based Twinomugisha talks about the challenges his organisation has to overcome when deploying ICT in Africa and what effect technology continues to have on the Continent.

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Easter Kalambo, who is married and a mother of four, lives in the community of Macha in rural Zambia. Since 1987, she has been Chaplain at Macha Mission Hospital, preaching in hospital wards, the outpatient department as well as at the hospital chapel. So far, she has not preached in church, as it is not very common to let women preach at the pulpit. Now Easter has done something that may boost her ministry career: She took part in “Equipping for Ministry” by the Brethren in Christ Church, an online theology course designed for people in the Christian ministry who cannot take part in traditional on-campus training. eLearning Africa reporter Brenda Zulu spoke to Easter in Macha.
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“It is high time for a different ICT pedagogy for Africa”, says Vincent Kizza, who works as an Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Instructor and Computer Manager at the Gayaza High School in Kampala, Uganda. In a letter to eLearning Africa news, he talks about his experience with integrating new technologies in Africa’s classrooms. “ICT does not in itself drive a particular approach. Rather, ICT is a tool and a resource to support and facilitate whichever approach is adopted. In Uganda, problems related to ICT in education are aggravated by the fact that even in higher institutions of learning, ICT-teaching skills are not imparted to teachers in training. What we need is an 'international collection of best practices.'”
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Schoolchildren in
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The integration of information and communication technology into education systems has captured the imagination of many teachers in Africa. Susan Kipkeny, who teaches at the Moi Girls High School in Eldoret, Kenya, attended last year’s eLearning Africa conference in Nairobi and now intends to travel to Accra, Ghana, to present what has resulted from her visit.
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Radio penetration is relatively high in Cameroon. With about eighty percent of the households having a radio, it is the most common communication technology in the West African country. Compared to computer penetration - which is quite low - radio can provide excellent educational opportunities. Protege QV, a Cameroonian organisation working for the betterment of the community through information sharing, trainings, and research, has developed radio-based training for women entrepreneurs to support them in setting up small businesses. Sylvie Siyam and Avis Momeni from PROTEGE QV, have sent us a report on a project they have recently carried out in Upper Nkam in Cameroon…
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Joseph Musangi is Manager at eCornell (Cornell University online programmes) in Kenya, Nairobi and considers himself a member of the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs in Africa. He shared his thoughts and doubts with us whether Africa is aware of its potential.
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Gertjan van Stam is a communications strategist who has lived in rural southern Africa since 2000. In 2004 he worked on the implementation of a fully networked IT set up from the grass roots. Having lived in rural areas for an extended period, he describes his experiences with an implementation of ICT at a rural settlement.
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The initiative to organise a pan-African conference on ICT for Development, Education and Training has stimulated reflections and comments from many parts of the world and particularly from Africa itself. With permission from the authors, we would like to share some of the opinions contained in letters sent by stakeholders from around the Continent to the organizers of eLA.
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