Information and
Communication Technology Policy in Education
INTRODUCTION
The need to manage change is becoming more
important in today's world of technology. For any country to cope and survive the fast
introduction and development of new Information and Communication Technologies in all
sectors of the economy, it must recognise the need for this change and be part of it or
otherwise risk being left far behind. 'Information is the lifeblood of any organisation
whether public or private. The effectiveness of decisions made and actions taken by
management will depend largely on the quality of information available to them at the time
and how well they use it. A good decision made on the basis of bad information can have
disastrous consequences. Similarly the availability of good information too late to
influence decisions already made can create operational dilemmas. Above all, it is highly
unlikely that a genuinely good management decision can be made on the basis of bad
information.' (Introduction to 'Information Technology - Shaping the Future , Building
Competitiveness , Government Computer Bureau, Botswana, September 1995.)
The importance and use of Information and
Communication Technology in today's world economies couldn't have been well emphasised by
the Prime Minister of Singapore when he said, 'The future belongs to the countries whose
people make the most productive use of information, knowledge and technology - these are
now the key factors for economic success, not natural resources.' (1993), and the
President of Botswana during a meeting of Eminent Africans held in Gaborone in May 1995
when he said, 'We cannot survive in the ruthless competitive world of today without
harnessing science and technology. Only science-led development will give us chance to
become serious players in the international market place,'
This is quite a challenge to the developing
countries to have clear Information and Communication Technology policies. To have such
policies in place however, is not an easy task in most developing countries because of
several factors, the most common being attitudes to change which include inflexibility,
fear of failure/the unknown and sense of security. Most people still find the problem
solving techniques which suit them and stick to them. Established methods and procedures
which work reasonably well are hard to relinquish for untried new systems, this is
sometimes called 'bureaucratic inertia.' Indeed in all walks of life it is often difficult
to break old habits and customs especially if they have been entrenched as 'traditions.'
Still today, most of Senior Government Officers lack the awareness of ICT potential and
capability and without this awareness, nothing can succeed. They are the starting point
for ICT policy formulation and implementation. They are the ones responsible for the
setting up of ICT structures.
ICT in BOTSWANA
In Botswana, the Government Computer Bureau has
been instrumental in setting up the necessary structures as well as running a number of
ICT training workshops for top government officers starting with Permanent Secretaries
down to the lowest senior officers. This approach is proving to be working well.
Before the necessary structures could be set up,
an evaluation of the ICT situation was made. The evaluation revealed that:
• Though the use of
Information and Communication Technology existed, it was not playing a significant role in
government.
• There was general lack of high quality management information for
decision making.
• There were limited resources and skill shortages.
• There was lack of data sharing.
• There was poor local ICT supplier/service industry
• There was limited data communications infrastructure.
• There were no Government-wide policies and standards - although
policies or standards existed in some ministries.
These findings provided a foundation for an
ICTvision which is to:
• Provide quality ICT systems in key areas
• Address resource and skill shortages
• Make Ministries more responsible for own ICT
• Improve services to public and private sectors
• Provide National telecoms infrastructure
• Facilitate information sharing and inter-working
• Implement Government-wide policies and standards
Ensure sustainability To achieve the vision,
various committees were set up, these include:
• National ICT Body
• Government Computer Steering Committee and its sub-committees
• Ministry ICT Committees
• ICT Units
• The ministries themselves
• Government Computer Bureau
ICT in EDUCATION
In 1993, Botswana's Education system underwent a comprehensive review which
resulted with a 'Report of the National Commission on Education 1993. ' In the Report, the
Commission made 424 recommendations, some of which were on Computer Education. The
Government White Paper No.2 of 1994 on 'The Revised National Policy on Education clearly
highlights Government's commitment to computer education and training. At Junior
Certificate level, computer literacy is highlighted as one of the main goals of the
curriculum to be developed in all children. To achieve this goal, it is recommended that
"each student should take a Basic Computer Awareness Course".
Concerning improving the orientation of the
Senior Secondary schools to the world of work, the White Paper states that "all
Senior Secondary school teachers should acquire computer literacy and the schools should
be allocated enough computers to enable all students to develop computer skills.
It goes without saying that for the Basic
Computer Awareness Course to be taught at Junior Certificate level, trained teachers, in
the field of Computer Education, should be in place. Presently, there are not enough
trained teachers in this field. In addressing this situation, The Commission has
recommended that with respect to junior secondary teachers, "the teacher training
curriculum should be diversified to meet the needs of the new three year Junior
Certificate.
It should include training of junior secondary
teachers with a commercial subject, including Computer Studies, as one of the teaching
subjects and emphasis on pre-vocational preparation'.
ICT at SECONDARY LEVEL
The issue of ICT in Education in Botswana (at Secondary School level) is presently looked
at from the perspective of the recommendations of The Revised National Policy on Education
of 1994. The Ministry of Education through the Curriculum Development Division, engaged a
Computer Awareness Consultancy in 1995. The purpose of the consultancy was to assist the
Ministry to develop a Computer Awareness Course for the Junior Secondary level as
recommended in the Revised Policy. The Terms of Reference of this consultancy were to:
• work primarily with the
Curriculum Development Division, and also consult with other divisions in the Curriculum
Development and Evaluation Department and with other departments of the Ministry of
Education (including the Department of Teacher Training and Development Preservice and
Inservice; the Department of Primary Education and the Department of Secondary Education).
• evaluate the present computer facilities and use in the schools to
determine what efforts towards computer awareness and literacy are currently in practice.
• develop recommendations for a basic computer awareness programme
at the junior secondary level to include:
a. the minimum school computer facilities required.
b. basic training required for teachers.
c. integrating/infusing computer awareness into the existing curriculum
vs. computer awareness as a separate course.
d. aims and objectives of the programme based on the Revised National
Policy on Education.
e. course outline and content
f. instructional materials and software required
g. appropriate time allocations
As a result of the consultancy report, an adhoc
committee was set up to look into its implementation and also to come up with a plan of
action. A plan of action was developed and a 'Task Force' was set up. The Computer
Awareness task force comprises representatives from Departments of Primary Education,
Curriculum Development and Evaluation, Non-formal Education, Teacher Training and
Development, Secondary Education, Vocational Education and Training, University of
Botswana and Botswana Institute of Administration and Commerce. The Terms of Reference for
this group are to:
• Assist in the development of subject aims based on the
recommendations made in the National Commission on Education of 1993 for this new program.
Assist with the interpretation of the computer consultancy to develop the Computer
Awareness program.
• Assist in the development of the strategies for designing and
implementing the new program.
• Assist in the development of guidelines and setting time frames
for the development of the 3 year computer awareness program.
• Develop a time frame for trial testing of the infusion of computer
awareness within the other subject areas.
• Assist in the development of the syllabus and support materials
• Serve as a review committee for curricular materials by and/or
commissioned from other agencies.
• Assist with identification of additional resources required for
the subject.
• Serve as a reference committee for consultancies that may be
required in assisting the development of the syllabus and supporting materials.
• Assist in the development of an in-service plan for the program.
THE SYLLABUS
The Computer Awareness Task Force met for the first time on the l5th of February 1996 and
this is when work on the syllabus started. The design of the syllabus is tailored such
that it is implemented by way of infusion through other subjects due to lack of possible
time slot in the existing curriculum as it is already overloaded.
• The syllabus is done such that it will work in any platform, be it
Macintosh or IBM.
• The syllabus covers the basic elements of:
Computer skills Keyboarding skills Productivity
Tool skills:
• Word-processing
• Spreadsheet
• Database
• graphics
• The Task Force completed
the first draft of the syllabus in its last meeting of the 30th August, 1996. This
document has now been approved by the Syllabus Committee.
• The Task Force members are now to converge once more to work on
suggestions about the teaching material.
COMPUTER
AWARENESS INFUSION
The programme is designed as a stand alone and
could be taught at any time during the year i.e. the modules are not necessarily in order.
It has been designed to be implemented piece meal until all the necessary skills have been
acquired.
The computer awareness programme has no specific
time allocation within the time table, and as such, some time should be created by the
schools to ensure that computer skills are passed across to the learners. This, we think,
could be done by having a well defined infusion programme. Before the infusion within all
the subject areas could be taken aboard, prerequisite skills or computer basic skills in
the different IT concepts of Word Processing, spreadsheet, graphics and databases should
be acquired. Therefore module 1, module 2 and module 3 should be done at the beginning of
the programme, preferably sometime in Form 1, Term 1. This is an ideal time as there are
less activities and also because the infusion into other subjects can be started at an
earlier time i.e. term 2. This can only be done by allocating one hour per class per week
in the afternoon so that the learners can be taught the concepts to be used to build up
their IT skills.
The first step therefore is to teach the basics
and then allow other subjects to use the skills.
Word-processing will be used in all the different
subject areas. Projects within the different subject areas will also lend themselves to
the use of the different skills acquired and thus allow for integration of the different
components of the programme and /or multimedia. There are a number of objectives which
would be characterised as subject specific and relevant software should be obtained as per
requirement of the subject.
Computer Labs
Computer laboratories have been, are being and will be constructed in all the Community
Junior Secondary Schools to house the equipment to be used in the Computer Awareness
Course. These Labs are being constructed for the purpose of the Computer Awareness Course
only.
To start with 7 labs have been constructed for
sampling and trials by the Task Force and the Department of Curriculum Development and
Evaluation. These labs were built, furnished, electrified and equipped with 20 computers -
10 IBM's and 10 Macintoshes , 40 typist chairs and 2 air conditioners. These 7 pilot labs
were put up in Morama in Jwaneng, Mahalapye, Molalatau, Ngami, Phatsimo in Pikwe, Shakawe
and Okavango Community Junior Secondary Schools. Boipelego Education Project Unit has
promised to have completed the construction of the remaining 196 labs by end of 1997. It
is worth noting that only the piloting sites have dual platform and specifically for that
purpose. It has been recommended that the rest of the labs be equipped with only one
computer hardware platform for ease of class control.
It is hoped that by the end of 1997, all the 203
Community Junior Secondary Schools will each have a fully equipped Computer Lab i n
readiness for the full scale launch of the course in 1998.
Training of Trainers
The department of Teacher Training and Development is charged with the training of
trainers for both the short term and the long term arrangements. The Task Force members
are seen to be the first trainers of trainers. The Task Force members, teachers from the 7
schools with pilot labs and In-service Education Officers have been taken through some
initial training by the hardware vendors. The training was aimed at orientating
prospective computer awareness trainers on installation of hardware and software for ease
of management of the labs and similarly equipped rooms.
The trainers of trainers have been taken through
all the basic computer awareness skills indicated in the syllabus content. This training
was conducted in 4 of the 7 labs around the country, with hardware vendors simultaneously
demonstrating the usability of their hardware and software. Having gone through this
initial training , teachers and officers are now equipped with the basic skills on how to
manage the labs satisfactorily.
The syllabus and teaching materials are now ready
and Task Force members, teachers at 7 pilot labs and In-service Officers have teamed up to
mount massive in-service training for prospective trainers in the other remaining
Community Junior Secondary Schools. The training is expected to be completed by the end of
1997 in order to get trainers ready to use the facilities at the beginning of 1998. This
is an interim arrangement before Teacher Training and Development starts producing
formally trained teachers from Molepolole College of Education and Tonota College of
Education to serve in the portfolio of Computer Integration Teacher (CIT) in schools.
For long term training of teachers, Colleges of
Education have started offering Computer Education as a minor in their curriculum this
year. So, after 1999 we will have a reasonable number of graduants formally trained to run
the Computer Awareness Programme in schools serving as Computer Integration Teachers.
Until then, we shall rely on Teacher Training and Development's in-service training
programme for the supply of adequately in-serviced personnel to serve as Computer
Integration Teachers.
WAY FORWARD
The initial training of trainers by the hardware
vendors is on going - it is part of the first level of the 5 training levels lined up by
TT & D. The future training plans (phases) run thus:
Level 1: a)
Initial training by vendors
b) Recap/Additional/Incomplete Programme
Level 2: a) Advanced Computer
Skills and in-depth knowledge on Productivity Tool Skills
b) Network Administration/Management and Trouble Shooting
Level 3:
Integration
Concepts/Examples
Level 4:
Development of Training
Materials
Level 5:
Training of Teachers
THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY
In order to take advantage of opportunities available in the use of Information
Technology and the Information Superhighway, the Department of Teacher Training and
Development has established an Email communication system in order to cater for students
participating in a joint Botswana Government and Preservice Inservice Project that links
an Institution in Scotland and the students in their various working locations in
Botswana. This establishment and use of the Email system has been extended to all Colleges
of Education, Education Centres, Headquarters and some schools that participated in the
last Botswana Technology Exhibition that ran parallel to the Commonwealth Conference for
Education Ministers, l3CCEM, hosted by Botswan from 28 July to 1 August 1997.
ICT EDUCATION AT TECHNICAL/VOCATIONAL
LEVEL
The Vocational Education and Training in Botswana starts normally after the students have
passed their Junior Secondary School Education.
With effect from August 1994 a merger took place
within the Ministry of Education. The merging parts were the Technical Department, then
responsible for the Botswana Polytechnic and all five Botswana Vocational Training Centres
(VTC's), and the Botswana Brigade Development Centre (BRIDEC) then responsible for the
Botswana Brigades, parastatal institutions with production and training tasks. The result
of the merger was the Department of Vocational Education and Training. Next to other
posts, a post of Technical Education Officer for Commerce and Computer studies had been
created.
Computer Training began in some Vocational
Training Centres as early as 1990. Short courses were run for small groups using specific
packages such as WordPerfect and Lotus 1-2-3. In the intervening 3 years, teachers,
involved in Computer Training at VTC level, began to realise the necessity for a
standardised approach with the courses and in the issuing of certificates.
These issues were discussed in a workshop at
Jwaneng Vocational Training Centre in April 1993. Syllabi of the various courses were
drafted, in order to achieve a standardisation of course content. It was also decided that
a one year, full time Computer Operator course could be established by combining the
part-time courses and enriching this content with other job related and computer subjects.
These subjects are in recognition of the different needs school-leavers may have compared
with the students taking the Part-time course, who probably have some employment history.
Thus the Computer Operator course was developed.
The Maun VTC started Computer Training in June 1994.
This led to a situation where the Computer
Operator Course now runs at the following Vocational Training Centres: Gaborone (15),
Jwaneng (24), Maun (10), Palapye (16) and Selebi-Phikwe (15). The number in brackets
behind the VTC's name indicates the number of students taken into the course each year.
There are about three hundred to six hundred applications for these Computer Operator
Courses at each Vocational training Centre, depending on the allocation of the VTC and
also if the VTC can provide hostel accommodation (only Jwaneng VTC).
The Computer Sections of the VTC's in Jwaneng,
Maun, Palapye and Selibe-Phikwe offer courses for clerical and secretarial students of the
Commerce Departments of the respective VTCs.
All mentioned Vocational Training Centres are
offering evening courses for the public. The number of students and the contents differ,
because of certain conditions of the regions where the centres are allocated. For evening
training packages such as 4VordPerfect Basics and Advanced or Spreadsheet Basics and
Advanced, the course content is more or less standardised.
The number of evening course participants differs
according to the available number of computers, e.g. at the Computer Section of the
Jwaneng VTC each evening, four courses are running with 12 participants per course,which
is 48 in all.
Following the number of courses offered, the
Computer Laboratories of the Botswana VTCs are in use between 10 -13 hours per day,
excluding weekends.
If institutions or companies have special
training needs, special courses will be designed up to a certain level.
PROGRESS MADE ON ICT EDUCATION AT
BOTSWANA VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTRES AND BRIGADES
The organisational changes such as the merger, the availability of more and
better hard and software partly determine the progress made on IT education at Botswana
Vocational Training Centres and Brigades.
One other component in the reached level of progress is the enthusiasm of teaching staff
involved in computer education and training on front line level as well as the keen
interest of most of the students in achieving best performances in class to have a chance
to find a job after completing training.
Four main groups ("bodies") have direct influence on Computer Education and
Training within the Department of Vocational Education and Training of the Ministry of
Education.
a. The staff in
the front line.
b. The "Advisory Group-Computer Education and Training" in the
Department of Vocational Education and Training
c. The Sub-Committee "Computer Education and Training" of the
Trade Advisory Committee "Administration, Business and Commerce".
d. National Committee for Computer Education and Training-a SubCommittee
of the Government Computer Steering Committee
CONCLUSION
ICT strategy and policy formulation can only
succeed if there is real commitment to it by all levels of government management and
staff. Commitment by government in the form of appropriate resourcing as well as
commitment in making and implementing key decisions about shifting priorities and changes
in policies can ensure effective ICT use. In policy making decisions, the Private
Sector,which plays an important role in the use of ICT should also be involved at all
levels.
REFERENCES
1. Botswana Government: Report of the National Commission on Education, Gaborone
Botswana, June 1993
2. Botswana Government: The Revised national
Policy on Education - Government Paper N02 of 1994, Gaborone, March 1994.
3. Botswana Government: Information
Technology - Shaping the Future, Building Competitiveness. ( GCB 1995 )
4. Botswana Government: Information
Technology Strategy Statement 'Directing Government towards more Productive Use of
Information Technology into the 2lst Century.' ( GCB 1996 )
5. Magetse T and Wilhelm R: Information
Technology in Botswana.
(A country Paper compiled for the UNESCO/RINAF/IIP workshop on Information and Informatics
held in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, june 1994.)
6. Magetse T: The Status of Computer
Education in Secondary Schools and Technical Colleges in Botswana (Malawi,Junel995)
7. Magetse T. F~ Tladi L: Computer Education
in Secondary Schools in Botswana ( Lesotho,December 1996 )
8. Wilhelm R: Computer Education and Training
in the Department of Vocational Education and Training of The Ministry of Education in
Botswana, Jwaneng, May 1995 |
