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Sierra Leone to introduce ICT in schools

  • A pupil at the Forum for African women Educationalist

By Hajaratu Kalokoh

The Sierra Leone government has announced plans to introduce Information Communication and Technology (ICT) in the school curriculum as part of the country’s journey towards a science and technology hub.

Officials said the plan is to introduce the course by next academic year.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MoBSSE) told Politico that the idea is aimed at introducing children to science and technology at an early age and thereby setting a stronger foundation for them for the future.

Science and technology is a major focus for the Bio administration and the plan to introduce it into the school curriculum is a key component in the government’s flagship Free Quality Education programme. And the announcement of its implementation is timely, coinciding with the recent deployment of science enthusiast, Dr Moinina David Sengeh, who is also the Chief Innovation Officer and head of the pioneering Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation.

Ibrahim Sheriff, Communication Specialist at MoBSSE, said Sierra Leone needed to catch up with the rest of the world in terms of technological advancement.

“There is a need [to introduce ICT in school). We have to catch up with the rest of the world. Technology is just a trending thing in this era, where you see that education is being enhanced by using technology,” he said.

“We believe that if we introduce a program like this at the primary level, by the time they get to that tertiary level of their education they should have been able to operate any device for educational purposes,” he added.

Sheriff said the ministry had already started preparing schools for the programme.

“As a ministry we have the standard committee that discuss issues of that nature and when they see that it is appropriate and it is timely for us to introduce a program like this, we can then go public,” he said, explaining the timing of the announcement.

ICT is one of the key indicators of development in the world.

This initiative is no doubt likely to face challenges, like the non-availability of computers in schools. Must public schools in Sierra Leone do not have computer centers. Therefore in many schools where ICT is offered, most of it is theoretical.

The situation is largely the same even at tertiary education level.

Section 54 of the Education Act of 2004 gives power to the Science and Technology Council to provide "policy guidance relating to the development, dissemination and application of science and technology countrywide". Over the years this has not been implemented, because of the lack of support to the Council.

Teachers will be key in ensuring the success of this initiative. The government said it plans to roll out an aspect of the ICT program targeting teachers, through which they will be trained and provided with ICT equipment.

And the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) told Politico that they have already been ahead of the situation.

Morris Conteh, Secretary General of SLTU, said a computer laboratory installed at the Union’s headquarters come in handy for the training of their members.

The lab was established about eight years ago with support from the teachers unions of the United Kingdom and Denmark.

Conteh said the response of their members has been “good.”

“As a teacher, you must be abreast with ICT. If the world has gone ICT, why not us?” he said.

Despite his enthusiasm, Conteh expressed concern over inevitable challenges like electricity supply.

“Over the years the major constrain has been electricity. You cannot operate a computer without a sustainable power supply. We are looking forward to a sustainable power supply,” he said.

But the Ministry said they are counting on government’s broader plan to increase electricity access in the country and sustain its supply.

Sheriff said: “We are going to think about mobile energy. Right now, as I am talking to you, government is trying to ensure that every part of this country has electricity. They have constructed the infrastructure for that; they are about to sign agreement on that. It is possible that we are going to get electricity from Cote d’Ivoire, so we can either use solar energy or we can use alternative sources of energy.”

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