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April-May
- Volume 1, Issue 3
ICT
Training Revisited: Debates on Ethics and Standardization
A half-day Workshop,
organized by the Ethiopian Information Technology Professionals
Association (EITPA) was held on "Basic IT Training in Ethiopia"
on April 16, 2002 at the UN Conference Centre here in Addis. The
Workshop hotly debated on the issues raised from the two presentations
that were submitted by Dr. Lishan Adam, Regional ICT Advisor for
ECA, and Ato Girma Feyissa, a Private Consultant. It was hoped that
these issues would serve as a basis for the Association to discharge
its duties and responsibilities in line with its statute.
The presentation
on the "Assessment of Basic IT Training" gave an overview
of the developments related to IT training in the past, and the
findings, comments and observations of some 30 enterprises were
briefly covered in the assessment. According to the Assessors, the
information for the findings were obtained through a questionnaire
designed for the purpose and distributed among the respondents.
The respondents consisted of employers of training centers, Addis
Ababa Education Bureau (through interview), traianees and instructors.
The statements in the assessment were supported by figures and percentages.
The following is a condensed review of the Assessment.
1 Training
Institutions
1.1 Material
Resources: This included computers, equipment such as projectors,
TV sets, LDs, digital cameras, CDs, videotapes, books, etc. The
quality of training depended on the availability of these resources.
The findings further indicated that 91.4% use Pentium III PCs, 61%
had at least 1 printer, 54% reported the availability of LDC 12/22
while 64% enjoyed books for reference purposes. On the other hand,
the percentages for the availability of educational aids, equipment
and services such as standby generators, TV sets, digital cameras,
scanners, cassette tapes, CBT courses, multimedia libraries, etc.
were insignificant.
Course Duration and Fees: The findings with regard to course duration
and fees revealed huge variations in all computer application courses.
(Please look at the range of the differences in the table below).
Variation in
Course Duration and Fees
1.3 Entry Requirements:
The assessment revealed that the entry requirements ranged from
completion of 12th grade down to an ability to read and write.
1.4 Qualification of instructors: The responses indicated that the
instructors were mostly first degree holders and some at post-graduate
level with specialization in engineering, biology, mathematics,
the arts, etc. The mode of teaching combined both part time and
full time.
1.5 Student Evaluation: Most training centers did not give importance
to evaluate their students for their attendance. The finding further
revealed that more emphasis was given to practical training than
to theoretical training.
1.6 Teaching Manuals: The number of pages of teaching manuals vary
from 14 to 187 pages irrespective of quality and almost all training
centers gave out the manuals free of charge.
1.7 Attendance and Certification: In most cases, the requirement
of attendance was 70% while trainees were required to repeat classes
for attendance of less than 25%.
1.8 Other Concerns: Training Centres had raised issues with regard
to plagiarism of training manuals, lack of public awareness on IT,
high turnover of qualified staff, unfair competition for fee reduction,
lack of standards and low level of practical training.
growth and quality
of training in the ICT sector.
- There was
also concern that the Addis Ababa Education Bureau did not have
the necessary manpower and financial resources to exercise effective
control on the training centres according to its mandate bestowed
on it.
- Questions
that related to quality of training were also raised: What is quality?
How could we assure quality of training? Could it be left to the
play of market forces in consistence with the spirit of free economy?
- There were
also concerns with regard to standardization of training. Some commented
that standardization of training manuals could be used as guidelines
free of imposition. The Association was advised to post these manuals
on its web site for replication for training by ICT training centers.
- It was also
commented that the introduction of an accreditation scheme by EITPA
and membership of ICT professionals with it greatly assist the quality
of ICT training. The registration of membership with the Association
should be based on the free will of the professionals.
What should
be done?
The following valuable comments were forwarded by the participants
as a reminder for future courses of actions.
· It
was said that this workshop was the only successful event ever held
by the Association. Hence, members were urged to actively participate
for its continued growth and full discharge of its responsibilities
in the future.
· It was recalled that the Association had earlier submitted
a draft document to the Prime Minister's Office proposing the need
for a "Basic ICT Training" to create awareness for all
members of the society including officials in the government's hierarchy.
EITPA was advised to continue with its ICT awareness creation endeavours.
· That Dr. Lishans's thesis serve as a springboard to formulate
the code of ethics and standards of training.
· The case assessment presented at the workshop could be
used as a basis to draw conclusions and recommendations for an enlarged
meeting of EITPA in the future.
· The government should play a role to assure ethics, issue
licences, set standards and legal provisions related to the types
of awards and accreditation to protect the interests of the customers
and employers.
· IT companies should start providing training in local vernaculars
since ICT training is penetrating into cities and towns outside
of Addis.
· Orientation should be given to owners of ICT companies
to show their social responsibilities.
· Ethiopian Science and Technology Commission should concentrate
on the training of trainers at this stage of ICT development in
the country. It should also be able to undertake studies to draw
the experiences of other successful countries in the field.
· There must also be established an independent examining
body to certify and accredit professionals.
In his concluding
speech, Ato Afework Temtime, the President of the Association remarked
that the Association's mandate could be no more than opening forums
for debates and dialogues among the stakeholders, pursuing advocacy
and creating awareness across all levels of the society including
leaders in government, business and ICT professiona as it could
not play the role of a decision-making body. On the other hand,
the Association could develop guidelines that could be beneficial
for the trainers, employers and trainees.
7. Continuing
the Debates
ICT Focus would
also like to express its appreciation to EITPA for organizing such
a successful Workshop. We would like to give some worthwhile remarks
in the concluding paragraphs of this article.
- Training policy and practice should continue changing in order
to have effects on the education of information and communication
fields in this country. The trend is that the student/trainee numbers
will continue to expand and an increased participation shall reflect
the national need for a more skilled workforce. The concept of a
more coherent national framework for the provision of training with
the ability to adjust to new developments must be an accepted practice.
Emerging roles, skills and professionals should be able to focus
on how courses are delivered, who decides in the contents and how
delivery meets the needs of customers, students and employers. The
interaction of the why, how, what and where is the discourse which
will keep the ICT profession in Ethiopia developing. Definition,
input, process and evaluation are complex and ongoing debates, that
need to be carried out as an integral process. Whenever there appear
to be fragmentation in this process, the pieces must be put together
by bodies inside the profession such as EITPA, private IT training
centers, departments of ICT education within the University setting
and the Ethiopian Science and Technology Commission.
- The teaching
of information technology has to be planned in relation to existing
competencies of the wide range and increasing number of students
coming into the world of ICT
training. Some students may have extensive prior knowledge and experience
while others have no keyboard skills at all. Assessing and planning
for different levels of expertise is a complex task, and courses
will have to support individual as well as future technological
demands.
- In addition
to the growth of course delivery, technology can further develop
the ways in which practitioners/professionals, teachers and students
interrelate their experiences. Exchange of views, local networks
and workshops, case studies and examples of good current practices
elsewhere can be utilized in the teaching of ICT. The interchange
of expertise between teachers and practitioners can help to maintain
the required standards and enable professionals to see difficulties
that lie ahead. Professional development on a continuous basis then
becomes a reality which is not just confined to annual review processes
and occasional workshops.
- Market forces
will also play their part here with the continuing expansion in
the student numbers and demand for imaginative and relevant professional
services. These logically follow that ICT professionals must possess
some basic skills in interpersonal communication, management, marketing,
report writing to understand the exchange mechanism of time, money,
effort and need so as to effectively formulate the planning, pricing,
costing, location and evaluation of services.
- The other
challenge of the ICT professional - as Dr. Lishan ably demonstrated
in his presentation - is to decide what his role in the society
in general and in the profession in particular is. What virtues
and abilities do employers, students and service seekers want from
him?
- It is also
our view that change has to be monitored and evaluated and quality
maintained in the ICT profession. At the moment, there are no clear
measures of quality performance being developed and clear guidelines
are lacking to maintain and develop quality in this field. Research
initiatives should be jointly undertaken by the Association and
other stakeholders. More and more is needed that is innovative and
imaginative to address persistent issues. This process would support
future development through analysis, cooperation, convergence and
feed back.
- To ensure
that the society benefits from ICT in this changing world, the profession
needs to think about some of the tensions and questions that develop
and arise from change. There are no easy answers, but the questions,
like the ones in the other fields of social endeavours, will not
go away.
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