Technological Infrastructure and Use of ICT in Education in ... - ADEA

Technological Infrastructure and Use of ICT in Education in Africa: an overview
85
Box 4: Computer
Education Trust in
Swaziland
In Swaziland, where 98%
of children currently leave
school never having had
access to a computer, and
where the average number
of computers per school is
less than one, there is an
interesting example of a
private initiative called the
Computer Education Trust
(CET), which is working to
address this situation. A
young IT professional and
a successful local businessman,
who aims to provide
refurbished computers
sourced from Computer
Aid International to all the
secondary schools in Swaziland,
started the CET
programme in 1999. In
addition to the support of
Computer Aid International,
various other local alliances
and partnerships have been
an important part of funding
the project.
James, Hesselmark &
Subiya (2002) evaluated
the CET programme in
early 2002. At that time,
36 schools in Swaziland
had received an average
of 20 computers. This
evaluation revealed several
findings relevant for
this study. The budget was
low, total cost per school
being about £2300 for the
installation of 20 to 40
computers. The computers
are six to eight years old
and run on Windows 95 or
98. Each has a basic MS
Office installation. None
of the installations have
been networked. Thus, the
CET initiative addresses
the need for computers in
the classroom, but is not
strictly an example of a
school networking activity.
The projects also highlight
the need for training and
maintenance support for
the success of such initiatives,
as many schools have
experienced problems with
the computers. Further,
the importance of a local
champion in the development
and sustainability of
the initiatives is apparent.
It was noted above that ICT
does not, in and of itself,
contribute to educational
enhancement, but rather
is a tool to support such
processes. Evidence from
this study provides further
support for this claim. It
was found that success
in computer studies was
largely dependent on having
an enthusiastic and
committed teacher, and in
particular a teacher with a
facilitative approach to education.
Thus, it is important
that pedagogical reform in
the direction of resourcebased
and learner-centred
approaches should accompany
the introduction of
computers.
Source: James, Hesselmark
& Subiya (2002)
9. ICT in Primary and Secondary Education