ICT Sector HRD Committee Partners with Ministry of Basic Education (MoBE)

The Information Communication and Technology (ICT) sector is one of the priority sectors that the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) has identified as drivers of the Botswana’s economy.

As part of implementation of its five quick wins developed in 2015, the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Sector Human Resource Development (HRD) Committee entered into a partnership, the same year, with the Ministry of Basic Education on a project that seeks to integrate ICT into everyday teaching and learning.

The Project, commonly known as the ‘North East ICT Integration Project’ is on a pilot phase at the North East Region. This Project is in line with the Committee’s Quick Win Five that advocates for the use of ICT as a medium of instruction in schools with a view to ensuring ICT is quickly diffused into the Botswana economy. On the 6th - 8th March 2017, two representatives of the Technical Working Group (TWG) of the ICT Sector HRD Committee assigned to Quick Win five, Mr. Pontsho Pusoetsile and Ms. Keolebogile Rantsetse accompanied by the Committee Secretariat, Ms. Keitumetse Tlhabologang, embarked on an inaugural three-day monitoring visit to Francistown to appreciate the implementation of the Project.

The visit comprised of meetings with the Project drivers at the Regional Office, focal persons in schools, school visits and observation of lessons in schools as well as feedback sessions from students. A total of nine (9) schools were visited; one (1) senior, five (5) junior and three (3) primary schools between Francistown, Masunga, Mapoka and Mowana villages

The delegation was welcomed by the Chief Education Officer, North East Region, Mr. Vumani Luckson who informed them that the Region houses 63 schools. Mr. Luckson also informed the delegation that the Project started off from an Edusite designed and operated by the Social Studies subject and on the basis of its positive impact on the subject results, was used as a benchmark and later expanded to include four other core subjects in the pilot phase being English, Mathematics, Science and Agriculture.

He apprised them that following consultations with the regional staff and school heads about the intention to pilot the Project in the Region, management of Secondary Schools were then trained on ICT Integration commencing in 2015 while primary schools were roped in at a later stage. Three teachers per school were trained to later cascade the knowledge to the rest of their colleagues in their schools.

The pace of implementation of the Project is slow. Majority of teachers are not integrating ICT into their teaching because of either attitude issues (despite the training they received and their acknowledgement that ICT can assist in improving their results) or lack of resources.

Therefore, in order to address these challenges there is an urgent need for a dedicated supervisor/coordinator for the Project at the Region and the project needs to have people who can develop the content to guide the process and take away teachers from developing content individually but rather at school level then regional level.

In conclusion, Mr Pontsho Pusoetsile, ICT Sector Committee Member said, “As Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) we are most impressed by this noble innovation as it adds on our pivotal aim of developing the human resource of this country, starting from the grass root levels. As you may be aware, HRDC is responsible for coordinating Botswana human capital development agenda. 

ICT is one of HRDC’s Sector Committees that has been identified by the economy and HRDC has lined up interventions that will address misalignment between supply of graduates and the demand for ICT skills by the labour market. I am pleased to be here at this auspicious Quick Win Five monitoring visit, I am happy to state that this clearly is a collaborative education and skills training development response that will enable the ICT sector to thrive and succeed from the classroom all the way to the labour market. These Quick Wins also provide an excellent opportunity for strengthening ICT Sector Committee efforts and commitment for the stakeholders to work together in addressing the country’s ICT needs”.

 

 

News Date: 
Monday, March 6, 2017