African governments, private companies and international donors are investing in ICT for education across the continent. Why? As Paul Jhin – CEO of UN Global Initiative on computer for Schools stated: “Our studies revealed that countries that have the more computers will perform better and improve their economic developments compared to those that have less.”
According to UNESCO, one of the keys to laying a strong foundation for the prosperity of a country is to apply the rights to education for all, and e-learning is one economical mean to reach this objective.
Will recent investments in improved education and global connectivity enable e-learning in Africa to bring positive changes?
Sylvain Béletre from Balancing Act, an independent consultancy and research company focused on ICT in Africa – finds out more.
The education context in Africa is the ideal environment for e-learning.
Local studies reveal that lack of skills and education is the key barrier to economic development across Africa, much ahead of any other issues such as funding, sales, innovations, etc.
Local enterprises recognise that there is a massive need for education and training among their staff. In the telecoms and audiovisual sectors alone, executives reported to Balancing Act research that they lack highly skilled technical and business experts. African companies sometimes need to recruit outside of the continent to find the right fit, but this will change.
Kushark Jaiswal from Karrox Technologies Pvt. Ltd revealed that e-education in Africa has a huge untapped potential. “With close to 1 Bn. in population -14.8% of the world's human population - and with close to 50% below the age of 25, Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent. It needs mass scale skill enhancement. Several African countries wants to be an outsourcing hub, they want to progress towards being a knowledge based economy and I am sure that ICT development and education is the foundation of it. Here is the education profile of Africa: Primary enrolment: 76%, Secondary enrolment: 26%, Tertiary enrolment: 4%.
A variety of public-private partnerships are emerging, and funding for entrepreneurships is being made available to develop ICT infrastructure and education in Africa. In parallel, several African countries are focusing parts of their budget on e-governance.”
What is the reality on the field? Ms. Touré, mother of three from Mali explains: “If you are a parent in rural Africa, it is sometimes hard and expensive to send your kids to school and get books and education materials. Private schools are recommended but some of my neighbours can’t afford to send their children there. Kids sometimes have to work to help the family. Public schools in several African countries are crowded and teachers are not well paid. It is getting better but there is still a lack of teachers in the public education system, so parents aim at sending their kids to private schools, if they can afford it”. David from Ivory Coast highlights the issue: “My family and I would do anything for my kids to get higher education because I want them to have a good life and a good job. Many of my friends think like me”. On technology for education, Ms. Fofana, mother of two adds “Nowadays, technology can improve the situation in schools. My kids can also go to an internet café and within minutes, download tons of materials off the web. But it is best if these materials are professionally structured to become more educational, lead to diplomas and employment.”
Across the continent, large universities have started implementing ICT and piloting e-learning tools. Almost all African government have taken ICT measures and adopted related policies to support their educational system and their economy. Over the last two years, the NEPAD eSchools initiative has been a catalyst in focusing attention on the potential that ICTs hold to enhance education in the continent. “If your school or University is well equipped, you get access to computers, the internet, plenty of courses materials in electronic version which you can print or save on an inexpensive PC, tablet or USB drive for later use offline” said Dan Ozek, a student in Johannesburg.
Benefits
Interviewing leading teaching bodies, another recurrent question is: what are the short and long term benefits of e-learning in Africa?
Like in other parts of the World, e-learning means several benefits for the African continent.
The most latent issues in education are lack of local teachers and financial resources. With e-learning, students can learn anything, from reading and writing to advanced education in economics, politics, sports, health, etc.: nothing escapes e-learning, from basic to very complex topics.
E-learning means improved performance: recent research found that higher education students in online learning generally performed better than those in face-to-face courses. To list a few:
- Increased access: Instructors of the highest calibre can share their knowledge across borders, allowing students to attend courses across physical boundaries. Recognized experts have the opportunity of making information available internationally, to anyone interested at minimum costs. For example, the MIT OpenCourseWare program has made substantial portions of that university's curriculum and lectures available for free online.
- Flexibility to learners: in many contexts, e-learning is self-paced and the learning sessions are available 24x7. Learners are not bound to a specific day/time to physically attend classes. They can also pause learning sessions at their convenience. Depending on the technology used, students can begin their courses while at work and finish those at an alternate internet equipped location.
- Skill Development: To develop the skills and competencies needed in the 21st century, in particular to ensure that learners have the digital literacy skills required in their discipline, profession or career. US e-learning experts stated that a major argument for e-learning is that it enables learners to develop essential skills for knowledge-based workers by embedding the use of information and communications technologies within the curriculum. He also argues that using e-learning in this way has major implications for course design and the assessment of learners.
Additional advantages of computer-based training over traditional classroom training include the ability to pay less per credit hour, reduce the overall training time and access the best public course content available.
The other benefit is that e-learning will and has already prompted the creation of a few local e-learning companies, for example in South Africa and Ghana. The European Commission argued that the e-learning industry is estimated to be worth over 38 billion Euros globally as a conservative estimate, so there is no reason for Africans not to get a share of the pie.
Lastly, e-education can reduce overall education costs for government and private training centres if it is well implemented, and at the same time justify ICT infrastructure investments for all.
E-learning can transform the lives of Street Children in urban or rural areas. You can learn anything with e-learning; The sky’s the limit.
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Quelle/Source: StarAfrica, 17.09.2010
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