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March
2002 -
Volume 1, Issue 2
Towards
Strengthening ICT Training in Ethiopia
1. Introduction
In the 1960's acquiring a clerical and secretarial training such
as Amharic and English Typing, modern filing, business letter writing
and stenography were sufficient requirements to secure decent paying
jobs in the civil service, parastatals and the private sector.
The major tasks
that typists/secretaries were expected to accomplish were typewriting
letters and reports with speed and accuracy, handling incoming and
outgoing mails, receiving and transmitting telephone messages etc.
Thus, gradually, typewriting replaced the long-held tradition of
handwritten reporting, correspondence and other forms of communication
in the state bureaucracy.
The Commercial
School of Addis Ababa - now Addis Ababa Commercial College - was
graduating students with advanced diplomas in Secretarial Science
and Accounting to meet the labour needs of the growing market economy.
The Business College of the Addis Ababa University has been training
young Ethiopians in degree programmes in Management and Accounting
who had been playing no lesser role to introduce modern concepts
and practices to transform the lives of the Ethiopian society.
Comprehensive
and vocational schools in and outside Addis Ababa were also producing
skilled manpower trained in the clerical and bookkeeping streams
to further supply the labour market.
There were also
private typing centres engaged in training job seekers in Amharic
and English typing. Opening a centre with a few second hand English
and Amharic typewriters was enough to attract prospective trainees
into it.
The training
duration mostly ranged from six to twelve months and concentrated
on typing speed, accuracy, dexterity and attractive page layout.
This booming business ceased to grow with the introduction of computer
training in Addis Ababa and the major cities of Nazareth, Bahir
Dar and Dire Dawa.
2. The Level
of IT Training
IT training has been restricted to a very few individuals selected
for training when organizations were planning to establish computer
centres or install PCs at institutional and departmental levels.
The following government institutions were in the forefront to conduct
computer courses tailored to the specific needs of requesting organizations
during the initial period of the introduction of computers into
the country.
2.1 The Addis
Ababa University: It was perhaps the forerunner to establish a computer
centre for training. It established the centre in 1986 in its Department
of Mathematics to offer courses for extension and regular students
in Diploma and B.Sc. degree programmes respectively. Other departments
were also giving minor courses in computer science.
The electrical
Engineering Department of the Faculty of Technology at the Addis
Ababa University has been offering basic courses in signals and
systems, communications systems and theory, computer methods, computer
programming, logic design, computer architecture and micro-processors
to undergraduates.
We have no information
whether or
not other faculties of the University, institutions of higher learning
and specialized colleges were introducing their students to different
kinds of application packages so as to enable them use computers
for different purposes.
2.2 The Ethiopian
Science and Technology Commission: It could be the largest single
training provider in the country offering a wide range of accredited
courses at different levels with high reputation and respect.
2.3 Private
Training Centres: It was in the 1990's that computer training centres
mushroomed in every corner of the city in a similar way that characterized
the opening of typing schools in the early 1960s'. Many young boys
and girls thought that a mere testimony in software application
would open the narrow door to employment. The rest who were rushing
to obtain computer training were professionals such as engineers,
accountants, administrators, managers, secretaries and other professionals
for better opportunities and future career advancement.
The private
sector has acted quickly to meet the growing demands for basic computer
training in software applications after the liberalization of the
socialist command economy. Most of these private training centres
have been offering courses on application packages, programming,
systems analysis and design and computer maintenance. As of recently,
most centres have included networking, web site development and
design and and other advanced courses in their training packages.
The latter inclusions will have a positive impact on producing knowledgeable
ICT users.
3. ICT Education
in Vocational Schools
It is expected
that the launching of a training programme to specialize in computer
in vocational schools according to the new educational policy will
further reinforce the growth of ICT users in Ethiopia. The students
will encounter both the operational and conceptual levels of knowledge
during the process of training.
The students
will not only be required to learn IT skills that enable them to
operate the software - i.e. - page layout, using different text
fonts and sizes, importing pictures and printing the final product.
However, learning ICT takes place at a much deeper level. The students
using IT have interactive access to the operational and conceptual
structures making IT an interesting teacher.
There is no
doubt that IT extends the capability of students with a knowledge
about the application of IT and its tools such as word processors,
databases, spreadsheets and software for processing and modelling.
Thus, the students
should be enabled to use IT to organize, refine and present information
in different forms and styles for specific purposes and audiences.
They should develop the skill to select information needed for different
purposes, check its accuracy and organize and prepare it in a form
suitable for processing using IT. They must have the ability to
communicate their knowledge and experience of IT and assess its
use in varying environments.
3.1 Assessment
of ICT Students: It is imperative to collect teachers' assessments
of students in a range of ICT training. Collecting and summarizing
the assessments should be done by a group of IT teachers and specialists
that the student:
- Uses IT autonomously;
-Considers purposes of using IT
-Investigates problems using IT;
-Considers the limitations of IT;
-Selects appropriate IT resources;
-Conducts systematic searches;
-Collects inputs, processes and
-analyzes information;
-Interprets and displays information, checking its accuracy and
validity.
3.2 IT Training
Management: The IT Training Department of the vocational schools
should have an IT manager or an IT coordinating committee consisting
of IT teachers and specialists. They will be able to discuss and
give decision with regard to the allocation of IT resources such
as hardware, software and security.
4. The Need
for Establishing a National ICT Agency
There must be
an approved body responsible for determining the subject and programme
of study, supporting and encouraging ICT training and teaching in
Ethiopia by designing a national ICT Education Strategy - curriculum
development and assessment being one of its areas of concern. The
Agency will oversee that:
- The teaching
syllabuses of all training and educational centres are consistent
with the national curriculum;
-Students shall have opportunities to solve IT problems;
-Students shall develop an understanding of the capabilities of
a wide range of IT systems;
-Students apply their knowledge, skills and understanding of IT
to a wide range of situations;
-Students analyze, design, implement, test, evaluate and document
IT systems for use by others and develop an understanding of the
wider application and efforts of IT; and
-Opportunities are there for them to discuss and review the impact
of IT application in the society.
The students'
capability must be characterized by the ability to use effectively
IT tools and information sources to analyze, process and present
information, and to model, measure and control external events with
regard to:
-Using information sources and IT tools to solve problems;
-Using IT tools and information sources such as computer systems
and software packages to support learning in a variety of ways and
contexts; and
-Understanding the implication of IT for working life and the society
at large.
Thus, the establishment
of the Agency will enable to:
- Create a robust,
growing and sustainable ICT sector;
-Increase use of ICT as an enabler for socio-economic development;
and
-Create a knowledgeable ICT workforce and create a culture of ICT
innovation.
The Ministry
of Education, the Ethiopian Science and Technology Commission and
ICT professionals could pull their resources together to formulate
the national strategy of ICT education and training to achieve the
above aims and objectives.
5. The Challenges Ahead
Due to low levels
of general literacy and the prohibitive cost of computers, computer
literacy skills are probably the lowest in the world. The average
Ethiopian wage earner could not still afford to pay for a computer
training even though the cost has gone down from a high of Bir.
500.00 to a low of Bir. 100.00 for a single training in some of
the training packages in Addis Ababa the cost is still unaffordable
to ordinary Ethiopians. As such, technology training and skills
development in the ICT sector should be a priority for the Ethiopian
government. The Government's ICT Sector and the private domain should
create a forum to channel and allocate funds for the expansion of
Internet infrastructure, the interconnection of institutions of
higher learning, public and school libraries and the creation of
community access centres across the country. It is expected that
the availability of ICT, together with new low cost computers will
naturally promote more technology users among the general public.
The shortage
of IT knowledge workers can also pose a challenge, and is an area
on which the country will have to concentrate further in order to
be a partner of progress in the ICT age.
It is widely
acknowledged that integrating ICT education and training into other
disciplines along the educational ladder will assist the acceleration
of economic and social development despite limited resources available
to address the various needs facing Ethiopia. It will, therefore,
take considerable time for all colleges and institutions of higher
learning to graduate all their students with ICT literacy.
The other aspect
that yields positive results in the development of ICT in Ethiopia
is the introduction of computer education as a field of specialization
in vocational schools. This strategy, that is a part of the new
Education Policy is expected to result in producing specialists
and capable end-users who can readily meet job requirements of prospective
employers. The success, of course, depends on the availability of
the following basic requirements.
- Sufficient
rooms
- Competent and qualified ICT instructors
- Computers and soft wares including accessories such as, generators,
printers, stabilizers, etc.
- No. of students assigned to a computer
- Standardized and approved teaching materials and reference books
- Security of the training premises.
The inclusion
of computer education in vocational schools will create pools of
appropriately skilled personnel to fill jobs in different institutions
where computers and networks are used to undertake tasks.
The expansion
of ICT education and training will enable to meet the needs of the
ICT sector for skilled manpower both to sustain the sector and drive
demand for products and services. It can also have the potential
to lead to informal training of sectors of the society that could
not be touched by conventional teaching and learning.
Training in
the skills required by the ICT sector is only one part of the national
strategy; the other part is the creation of a culture of enterprise
and innovation. Therefore, the provision of ICT education and training
at an early stage in the school curriculum along with skills development
should be encouraged to generate appropriate ICT skills base.
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