eLearning in the School System

Laying the Foundation for Africa‘s e-Schools

To equip all African schools with ICT tools and to ensure that African youths graduate with the skills necessary to fully participate in the information society and knowledge economy is the objective of Nepad's e-Schools Initiative. A large-scale roll-out addressing 600,000 schools across Africa is now about to begin. Here Dr Henry Chasia, Executive Deputy Chairperson of the e-Africa Commission and keynote speaker in the Opening Plenary, depicts how a decisive e-Schools business plan will help the ambitious 10-year project become a success.

eLA: Dr Chasia, where does Nepad's e-School Initiative stand today?

Dr Henry Chasia: The Initiative is currently engaged in a number of activities, including the Demo Project, the NEPAD e-Schools Business Plan, Professional Development of Teachers and School Administrators, the establishment of National Implementing Agencies, Content Development, the NEPAD e-Schools Satellite Network and activities that lay the foundation for full-scale roll-out of the Initiative.

The purpose of the Demo Project is to develop a body of knowledge that is based on the real-life experience of implementing ICT in African schools. The project is complete in 10 out of the 16 African countries where it was implemented and efforts are underway to finalise activities in the remaining six countries by mid-2009.

The professional development of teachers and school administrators is also critical for the success of the Initiative. A development framework for NEPAD e-Schools was developed in 2006 with the support of the ITU. In December 2008, MoUs were signed with Intel Corporation and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech.) Work is underway to organise the launch of a Group of Experts during the eLearning Africa conference. The project team is working with African governments, private sector partners and Virginia Tech to realise Initiative activities planned for 2009.

Through monitoring and evaluation of the Demo Project, it became clear to the Continental Coordinating Body of the NEPAD e-Schools Initiative that it is necessary to have a national institution with multi-stakeholder governance overseeing the national roll-out of e-Schools in each participating country. This idea was endorsed by a resolution emanating from the Stakeholders’ Conference. The NEPAD e-Africa Commission has developed project proposals for the establishment of National Implementing Agencies (NIAs) and is in the process of seeking funding. In this regard, a concept note has been prepared, in collaboration with Microsoft Corporation, to support the development of NIAs and the implementation of schools in the Great Lakes region of Africa, as a model for roll-outs in other regions. Negotiations with the EU and other potential partners to fund this project are underway.

eLA: What importance does the NEPAD e-Schools Business plan have in this regard?

Dr Henry Chasia: In order to ensure that the NEPAD e-Schools Initiative is rolled out in an effective and sustainable manner, it was necessary to prepare a comprehensive business plan for the Initiative and develop a series of planning tools and frameworks to assist the participating countries to develop and improve their own national plans. The NEPAD e-Schools Business Plan was funded by the South African Government and developed with the assistance of Ernst & Young with Neil Butcher and Associates. It was endorsed by stakeholders as a broad framework for the implementation of NEPAD e-Schools during the NEPAD e-Schools Stakeholders’ Conference held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 15th to 18th April, 2008. Currently, the plan estimates that a figure of US$ 240 billion would establish 650,000 NEPAD e-Schools across the African continent; short-term project activities are valued at about US$ 40 million.  Plans and activities are underway to support the participating countries to use the business plan for planning and implementation of NEPAD e-Schools roll-out.

eLA: How does the implementation of the NEPAD e-Schools Business Plan work? What were the first steps? What do you want to accomplish in the short term?

Dr Henry Chasia: The NEPAD e-Schools Business Plan was developed after consultation with the countries. It incorporates detailed guidelines for good practice in the implementation of NEPAD e-Schools. It has a detailed country strategy for each of 17 African countries, namely: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, and Republic of Congo. For each country, the Business Plan outlines the current context, evaluates progress against the guidelines of good practice, and provides targets, an action plan and a draft budget. The Business Plan also provides the Total Cost of Ownership financial modelling tool, which enables a country to update its budget for the roll-out of NEPAD e-Schools in line with the current context. The Business Plan is thus a tool that helps countries to implement NEPAD e-Schools roll-out once the decision for a national roll-out is made and the resources are available.

The first step is the establishment of national implementing agencies in the countries. One of the major learning experiences of the Demo Project was the recognition of the need for a national agency to coordinate the many stakeholders and activities involved in roll-out and to drive the process at the national level. During the Stakeholders’ Conference in 2008, countries committed themselves to establishing such an agency. As stated above, the NEPAD e-Africa Commission is trying to harness resources to support countries to establish these crucial agencies. In the meantime, the Commission is also engaged in other continental "quick wins" such as professional development of teachers and a content portal.

Dr Chasia, thank you very much for your time!

May 20, 2009

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