Revealed : 371 pupils share one ICT tool in Tanzania
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Loading... - Iddi Kibona
- 06 May 2022
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As the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology pushes its strategy of distributing ICT equipment to schools, government data reveals a severe shortage of such equipment in public learning institutions.
According to data by the National Basic Education Statistics in Tanzania (BEST) 2021 for both primary and secondary public schools, one ICT equipment of any kind is shared by 371 pupils and 85 students respectively.
To tackle the above scenario, the government, through the Education ministry, is convinced that the need for technology use in student learning is inevitable and thus the need to equip schools, teacher training colleges and quality supervisors with ICT equipment.
In his recent comments, Prof Adolf Mkenda, the education minister, the distribution of ICT equipment was a key government resolve to invest and manage ICT use to stimulate the economy and keep pace with technological demands of the educational sector.
Under this endeavour, equipment already distributed include 3,354 computers of which 1,637 are laptops and 1,717 desktop computers, 12 printing machines, 12 projectors and 12 internet switches which have been procured by the government and other education stakeholders.
Of those computers, Prof Mkenda said, 1,337 laptops were under the Covid-19 recovery programme, that is, a project aimed at improving safety and curbing Covid-19 infections.
He said the computers would be distributed to quality assurance officers and ward education officers to improve their performance, while computer processes would help simplify operations; information and data management.
He noted that another batch of equipment including 1,717 desktop computers, 300 laptops, 12 printing machines, 12 Projectors and 12 internet switches have been provided by the UK’s initiative ‘Digital Pipeline’ and will be distributed to primary, secondary and teacher training colleges.
The ministry has also distributed IT equipment: 1,120 desktops, 413 laptops and 186 projectors in all 35 government teaching colleges.
These materials, according to Prof Mkenda, were distributed to help reduce the ratio of computer use for students from 28 students to one computer (28: 1) to two students per computer (2: 1) in colleges.
“The aim of the distribution of these materials is to ensure that the preparation of teachers is also modern and in line with the development of Science and Technology,” he said, calling on other education stakeholders to support the government’s efforts.
But, BEST 2021 statistics have shown that in both primary and secondary public schools one ICT equipment of any kind is shared by 371 pupils and 85 students respectively. Read More...
