Chronicle Editor
Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter
GOVERNMENT has said there is a need to capacitate some rural teachers with information communication technologies (ICTs) skills as they are computer illiterate to drive the national e-learning strategy in schools.
Cabinet in March approved the national e-learning strategy which will see 1 500 schools being connected to the internet before year end.
Three thousand teachers were expected to have received ICTs training by end of June.
The national e-learning strategy is expected to close the digital divide especially during the Covid-19 pandemic era where e-learning has become mandatory.
In a ministerial statement delivered in the National Assembly on Thursday, Information, Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services, Deputy Minister Dingimuzi Phuthi said Covid-19 has negatively impacted on rural pupils.
He said most of them have no access to e-learning facilities to counter disruptions caused by the pandemic to the education sector.
The deputy minister said it was worrying that some educators, who are expected to use ICT gadgets to teach learners, are themselves computer illiterate.
“Concerns have been raised that the teachers in the rural schools are not computer literate as compared to teachers in urban areas. This makes it difficult for rural teachers to effectively carry out e-Learning. To alleviate this, the Ministry has been running an ICT capacity building programme for the past seven to eight years,” he said.
“The Ministry for instance, has a state-of-the-art training room housed at its Mukwati building offices. These training facilities have since been decentralised and spread to all the other provinces. Furthermore, the Ministry periodically dispatches officers to train people all over Zimbabwe on ICT usage. We are certainly going to arrange with my counterpart, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to ensure that teachers are trained and capacitated with basic computer skills.”
He said while connecting internet to schools is important, there is also a need to extend the same services to communities.
“There are rural schools that are connected but do not serve any purpose if the learners are not connected at their homes or if they do not have the necessary gadgets. What we are therefore doing as a Ministry and the entire ICT sector, is to ensure that our rural schools are connected to the internet and that they are equipped with ICT gadgets.
This of course will not be something that can be done overnight but the will is there,” he said.
Deputy Minister Phuthi said through the National E-learning Strategy, Government is in the process of equipping schools with internet as well as ICT gadgets.
He said the pandemic has increased the need for improved internet connectivity.
Deputy Minister Phuthi said President Mnangagwa will soon launch about 260 new base stations as part of
Government thrust of improving internet connectivity countrywide.
“The Covid-19 pandemic caused the nation to go into lockdown and this resulted in a shift in telecommunication traffic patterns as more people had no option but to work from home.
This shift resulted in congestion in some base stations. The Ministry, Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (Potraz) and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) embarked on a Capacity Enhancement Project aimed at decongesting the networks and ensuring continuation of quality of service in this Covid-19 era,” he said.
“This resulted in the upgrading of most base stations. NetOne, for example, upgraded a total of 75 base stations to 3G from 2G and a further 60 base stations were upgraded to 4G from 3G. This upgrading of base stations is continuing and construction of new network towers, especially in rural areas is being speeded up.” — @nqotshili
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