Lack of skills challenge to ICT development in schools

However, the effects of brain drain and the lack of skilled manpower have contributed to the country falling behind in the ICT sector as compared to other countries.
The worst affected by these factors are schoolchildren in rural areas where the usage of these technological gadgets is just a far-fetched dream.

There has been a high demand for computer studies to be taught at schools in the country. Many schools, through their school development committees, parent-teacher organisations and well-wishers have made it their  priority to purchase ICT equipment such as desktops and laptops, and connecting their classrooms to the Internet.
The main problem with this is who will operate, let  alone teach, pupils how to use these computers, with some being locked up in storage rooms because no one  in the staff complement is competent enough to use the computers?

An example of this is Mr Sicelo Dube, the headmaster of Tsholotsho High School in Matabeleland North. Last year the school purchased computers which have, however, not been used yet because he as a headmaster did not know how to use the computer, let alone switch it on.
Fortunately for him he and 47 other participants underwent a course that taught the basics of using a computer.

The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology facilitated the course, Intel Teach Getting Started Course, an intensive teacher training programme.
The course seeks to improve teacher effectiveness through professional development, helping teachers integrate technology into their lessons and promoting students’ problem-solving, critical thinking, and collaboration skills.
The teachers joined more than 10 million others trained in 70 countries and they were the first to complete the course in Zimbabwe.

A local company, e-Learning Solutions, conducted a 32-hour course held at Manqe Secondary School in Tsholotsho.
Manqe Secondary School is a perfect example of what should be done in order for the pupils at the school to benefit fully from the ICTs that have been purchased or donated to the school.
Vice-President Dr John Landa Nkomo is spearheading the school’s development. The Ministry of ICTs sourced 41 state-of-the-art computers. There is Internet connection at the school, which will bring the world right to the doorstep of the pupils and teachers.

Provision of Internet access especially to rural areas can be a headache but with Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT), even the most remote places Internet access is possible.
VSAT is used for the provision of satellite Internet access to remote locations. It is a satellite dish used to receive and transmit data, voice and video signals, which is ideal for remote locations.
The school is so advanced in terms of the ICT equipment for a rural school that it can challenge any school in the city.

The cost of this development was $32 000 but the human resource was lacking. The Ministry of ICTs should be commended for seeing the lack and embarking on a project to teach the teachers.
Teachers who spoke to Chronicle after completing the course said they were ignorant before but now they were grateful upon completing the course.
The headmistress of Mavela Secondary School, Ms Joyce Siziba, viewed the computer as a “monster”.

“Before this course I had never produced a letter using the computer. A computer to me was like a monster that I was very much afraid of. But since I learnt how to use the computer things have been easier for me,” she said.
Ms Siziba said she could now do budgets, final budgets and inventory of school assets on the computer.
“I never knew it was so easy to do these things and when  you use the computer, you do not take that much time. For example to prepare a budget I would take normally  a week but now I only need the whole day to prepare a budget that I can present to the parents,” she said.

Mr Dube echoed her sentiments, admitting that the computers that the school had purchased were being kept in the strong room.
“The computers are locked up in the strong room because of lack of knowledge on my part. I was shy to tell people that I could not use a computer,” he said.
Mr Dube said his ignorance had caused him the most embarrassing moments of his life.

“I was dealing with a teacher and I wrote a report  about him. I asked the bursar to type the report that was supposed to be confidential but by the end of the day the whole school knew what I had written about the teacher,”            he said.
Mr Dube said after completing the course he was sure he could do mark sheets and scheming for lessons on the computer.

He thanked Dr Nkomo for the facilities and for the opportunity afforded to them to be enlightened and join the 21st century.
However, there is more that needs to be done in order for all schools whether rural or urban, to have a computer for each child and achieve computer literacy in the country.

Applying for a job these days requires one to have computer literacy as a pre-requisite. Computer literacy is now as important as having the relevant qualifications for the job, whether you are a lawyer, doctor, nurse, journalist, policeman, soldier, sweeper, tea lady and so on. You will encounter a computer one day or the other.

People have lost the opportunity to enhance their  careers just because they do not have any ICT qualification. However, with change, there comes resistance to the  change especially on matters to do with ICTs. Most  decision makers are tentative in bringing about change  to companies and this has far reaching effects on the business.

At the hub of the resistance is that the “top brass” may not be informed on ICTs.
In Zimbabwe, some would say, the country does not     depend that much on ICTs but one should look at the growth of the ICT sector over the past year which has been commended by the Minister of ICTs Nelson Chamisa.

In the next three years, the country will need to beICT compatible, otherwise it would be left behind for good and the benefits would not be realised by any business in the country.
True to this the Computer Society of Zimbabwe national chairman Mr Artwell Mukusha said the ICT sector was expected to grow by 10 percent due to the fall of the prices of gadgets.

He said local organisations would need to further invest in their websites to get wider visibility if they want to attract more clients and partners.
“Some Government ministries, especially the regulators, will be required to provide more transparency about their market and will need to improve their web visibility with up-to-date information as this will further attract investments,” he said.

This shows that ICTs are important in large companies and those that have no websites or those who have not updated in months, sometimes in years, will be left behind by the technological wave.
The biggest challenge still remains that the human resources element has to be looked into with haste  because in the next three to five years, all the sectors of the country’s economy could be caught up in a technological abyss.