[kictanet] Fw: RE: One subject, varying quality - We lack an accreditation system for ICT courses
Mwololo Tim
timwololo at gmail.com
Sat Jul 4 12:14:14 EAT 2009
Ikua et al,
I agree with you. However, our problem is that we do not have a common
position amongst the stakeholders and that is why we have such a compromise
in the policy statement. With or without the backing of huge $$ budgets, we
must find a common position that is for the good of this country.
Mwololo
On 7/3/09, Evans Ikua <ikua at lpakenya.org> wrote:
>
> As far as the policy goes, I beg to disagree with Dr Ndemo. Its good to
> have a policy that makes the playing field level. That is a good start and
> that is the basic minimum that should be expected. On the other hand, its
> very important to understand that for the sake of the interests of a
> country, its important to have a policy that supports what we believe is
> good for us. If we are all convinced that OSS is good for us, then there is
> no-one to stop us from having a policy that supports OSS very openly. Too
> bad if some Proprietary software houses will not like it. But we must learn
> to protect our national interests agressively. The many countries in Europe
> and the rest of the world have gone this direction and they are enjoying the
> benefits of OSS. In some developed countries like Germany and UK, the
> policies are there and they clearly state that (in Government) you can only
> buy proprietary software only if you cannot get a OSS option to do what you
> need to do.
>
> As for the MoE, its very hard to penetrate to them as some of us have
> learnt. At the same time, the OSS advocates we have in this country (us
> included) have very limited capacities as we do not receive any funding from
> anyone. This is one of the handicaps that OSS advocacy has. We volunteer our
> resources (time and money) and have to compete with software companies that
> are supported by Marketing budgets that run into the Billion Dollars.
>
>
> --
> Evans Ikua
> Linux Professional Association of Kenya
> Tel: +254-20-2250381, Cell: +254-722 955 831
> Eagle House, 2nd Floor
> Kimathi Street, Opp. Corner House
> www.lpakenya.org
>
>
> Quoting bitange at jambo.co.ke:
>
> Prof. Waema,
>> A good policy levels the play ground. What each party (Proprietary or
>> OSS) does should not concern policy. That is why we need the procurement
>> rules change to give everybody an equal chance.
>>
>>
>> Ndemo.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Bwana Sang,
>>>
>>> You have a point. We do not have strong OSS champions, especially in the
>>> public sector - at least not as powerful as the evangilists for
>>> proprietary
>>> software. This situation is not helped by a non-committal policy. Let me
>>> chew over how we can change things.
>>>
>>> Mwololo
>>>
>>>
>>> On 6/30/09, Barnabas K. Sang <bksang at education.go.ke> wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Tim,
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I agree with you to some extent, that we all need revision of the
>>>> current
>>>> ICT Policy to accommodate the key issues Kenya currently is focusing on.
>>>> On
>>>> OSS, I still doubt capacity of “*OSS Champions*” on the issue having
>>>> observed in the past one year, how an opportunity to have 210 secondary
>>>> schools each equipped with 25 PCs and use both proprietary software and
>>>> OSS
>>>> (Funds provided for) progressed.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> To date, no OSS proponents have brought any concept on how MOE can
>>>> facilitate the adoption and use of OSS. There are some brilliant OSS
>>>> solutions, particularly supporting teaching and learning (animated
>>>> content
>>>> -> good for illustrations of difficult concepts in some subjects) and
>>>> development of content for use by all education and training
>>>> stakeholders
>>>> (teachers, students, parents and researchers).
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I would like to acknowledge existence of sufficient leadership (policy
>>>> and
>>>> managers) to support modernization of education (ICT integration to
>>>> teaching
>>>> and learning). We may not have all necessary capacity yet for
>>>> decision-makers to guide the process, but in partnership with all
>>>> stakeholders, I believe OSS will definitely find a niche in the whole
>>>> ICT
>>>> integration exercise being spearheaded by MOE. Perhaps people like
>>>> yourself
>>>> and others in this network, could enlightened us on how OSS could be
>>>> part of
>>>> ICT integration efforts at an early stage as possible.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Kind Regards
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> B. K. Sang
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *From:*
>>>> kictanet-bounces+bksang=education.go.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke[mailto:
>>>> kictanet-bounces+bksang <kictanet-bounces%2Bbksang>=education.go.ke@
>>>> lists.kictanet.or.ke] *On Behalf Of *Mwololo Tim
>>>> *Sent:* Tuesday, June 30, 2009 8:02 AM
>>>> *To:* Barnabas K. Sang
>>>> *Cc:* KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
>>>> *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] Fw: RE: One subject, varying quality - We lack
>>>> an accreditation system for ICT courses
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Listers,
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Our 2006 national ICT policy is silent on open source software (OSS). As
>>>> we
>>>> think of a review of this policy, which according to me is due due to a
>>>> number of issues (Vision 2030, BPO, and many other developments), we
>>>> should
>>>> think seriously about a section on OSS policy.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> tim mwololo
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 6/29/09, *Evans Ikua* <ikua at lpakenya.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> There is also Camara Kenya (the local office of camara.ie) that has
>>>> done
>>>> tremendous work in the area of putting hardware in schools, both Primary
>>>> and
>>>> Secondary, installing open source software, supporting them, and
>>>> training
>>>> the teachers. This in a short period of time.
>>>>
>>>> Their work has mainly been in the coast region but they are also getting
>>>> into the hinterland. They have about 150 volunteers from Ireland who
>>>> have
>>>> just come in and they will conduct trainings for about a month.
>>>>
>>>> They have equipped schools in the whole of Lamu island, and many schools
>>>> at
>>>> the coast.
>>>>
>>>> They are achieving much more by using FOSS as a computer installed with
>>>> Linux gives much more to a student as opposed to one installed with
>>>> Windows.
>>>> Because they are not spending a penny on software licenses, they are
>>>> able to
>>>> supply like twice the number of PCs than if they were to have the
>>>> schools
>>>> buy licenses.
>>>>
>>>> Ikua
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Evans Ikua
>>>> Linux Professional Association of Kenya
>>>> Tel: +254-20-2250381, Cell: +254-722 955 831
>>>> Eagle House, 2nd Floor
>>>> Kimathi Street, Opp. Corner House
>>>> www.lpakenya.org
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Quoting Walubengo J <jwalu at yahoo.com>:
>>>>
>>>> forwarded--- On Thu, 6/25/09, Emmanuel Khisa
>>>> <emmanuel.khisa at kadet.co.ke>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> From: Emmanuel Khisa <emmanuel.khisa at kadet.co.ke>
>>>> Subject: RE: [kictanet] One subject,varying quality - We lack an
>>>> accreditation system for ICT courses
>>>> To: "'Walubengo J'" <jwalu at yahoo.com>
>>>> Date: Thursday, June 25, 2009, 10:11 AM
>>>>
>>>> And Project Discovery Kenya has been able to train more that 200 primary
>>>> school teachers over the last five years in conjunction with Institute
>>>> of
>>>> Software technologies...I also know that similar training went on in
>>>> Yala
>>>> Division last April for Primary school teachers in the division
>>>> organised
>>>> by
>>>> the Computers for Schools.
>>>> On the subject of lack of adequate professors, I will leave that to
>>>> Academicians and those keen on interrogating academics, I however would
>>>> like
>>>> the ICT training to move from over concentration with the academics and
>>>> more
>>>> to the more handson...more like incubator based learning
>>>> approach...While
>>>> the Far East economies have good universities, they still put more
>>>> premium
>>>> on handson skills...It is sad that even our graduate engineers let alone
>>>> IT
>>>> graduates (who by the way take a lot of flack) cannot invent or think
>>>> outside the box...I mean no invention ever comes out of these highly
>>>> restricted courses yet only a select few universities dare to venture
>>>> into...
>>>>
>>>> The answer in my opinion lies in building skills that are more practical
>>>> and
>>>> focussed on creating entrepreneural opportunities.
>>>>
>>>> Rgds,
>>>>
>>>> Manu
>>>>
>>>> "New opinions are always suspected and usually opposed, without any
>>>> other
>>>> reason but because they are not already common."
>>>> P Before printing, think about the Environment and your responsibilities
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: kictanet-bounces+emmanuel.khisa=kadet.co.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke
>>>> [mailto:kictanet-bounces+emmanuel.khisa<kictanet-bounces%2Bemmanuel.khisa>
>>>> <kictanet-bounces%2Bemmanuel.khisa>
>>>> =kadet.co.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke] On
>>>> Behalf Of Walubengo J
>>>> Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2009 8:41 AM
>>>> To: emmanuel.khisa at kadet.co.ke
>>>> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
>>>> Subject: Re: [kictanet] One subject,varying quality - We lack an
>>>> accreditation system for ICT courses
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I agree that something is happening within the High-School teaching
>>>> fraternity. Last April, Multimedia University College trained 80 high
>>>> school
>>>> headteachers from Samburu and I think Transmara Districts, giving them
>>>> basic
>>>> ICT skills...am aware Strathmore University, IAT etc also do such
>>>> trainings
>>>> regularly...It may not be enough, but its definitely a good kick in the
>>>> right direction.
>>>>
>>>> As for the University Level IT faculty staff. Unfortunately the
>>>> statistics
>>>> are likely to be true. You can count the number of IT Professors in
>>>> this
>>>> country on your three fingers ;-)
>>>>
>>>> walu.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --- On Wed, 6/24/09, Barnabas K. Sang <bksang at education.go.ke> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> From: Barnabas K. Sang <bksang at education.go.ke>
>>>> Subject: Re: [kictanet] One subject, varying quality - We lack an
>>>>
>>>> accreditation system for ICT courses
>>>>
>>>> To: jwalu at yahoo.com
>>>> Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
>>>> Date: Wednesday, June 24, 2009, 11:32 PM
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Betty,
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Thanks for your response on the article
>>>> mentioned below. Will go
>>>> through it and perhaps respond on key issues raised, which
>>>> ICT in Education has
>>>> already done or planned. I hope it will minimize fears all
>>>> of us have or may be
>>>> persuaded to think all is totally misplaced and lost.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ?ICT Integration? is currently Ministry
>>>> of Education focus, and
>>>> steps already put in place are expected to make Kenya
>>>> improve both teaching and
>>>> learning environment, with better education ?products?
>>>> across all levels.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Kind regards
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> B. K. Sang
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> From:
>>>> kictanet-bounces+bksang=education.go.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke
>>>> [mailto:kictanet-bounces+bksang <kictanet-bounces%2Bbksang><kictanet-bounces%2Bbksang>=
>>>> education.go.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke]
>>>> On
>>>> Behalf Of Betty Ogange
>>>>
>>>> Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 4:31 PM
>>>>
>>>> To: Barnabas K. Sang
>>>>
>>>> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
>>>>
>>>> Subject: Re: [kictanet] One subject, varying quality
>>>> - We lack an
>>>> accreditation system for ICT courses
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Hallo David,
>>>> Last week there was furore in this forum
>>>> about media
>>>> misrepresentation of the Kenyan situation. The article
>>>> that you make
>>>> reference to in today?s Standard (24.06.09) may be
>>>> accurate in the areas that
>>>> you have highlighted. However, I wish to take issue with
>>>> a few points raised
>>>> in the article.
>>>>
>>>> http://www.eastandard.net/education/InsidePage.php?id=1144017693&cid=316
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ?Unlike other academic fields, very
>>>> little has been done
>>>> to train most teachers in ICT skills. Currently, no
>>>> primary teacher training
>>>> college offers comprehensive pre-service training in
>>>> information technology.?
>>>>
>>>> Anyone with a modest interest in education in
>>>> Kenya would not
>>>> miss something as obvious as a subject in the national
>>>> curriculum when reporting
>>>> in a national daily. Prior to the year 2004, a few
>>>> colleges had ICT skills
>>>> courses for pre-service teachers based on in-house
>>>> curricula that were
>>>> independently developed by each college. The Primary
>>>> Teacher Education (PTE)
>>>> ICT curriculum developed by the Kenya Institute of
>>>> Education has been in
>>>> force since the year 2004 and ICT is taught as a
>>>> compulsory subject in all
>>>> primary teacher training colleges. It is examined
>>>> internally at the end of
>>>> the first year and all students must pass in the subject,
>>>> among other
>>>> subjects, in order to proceed to second year. There are
>>>> several
>>>> implementation hitches in this programme arising from the
>>>> fact that ICT is
>>>> being taught as a discrete subject in the curriculum and
>>>> has yet to be
>>>> mainstreamed in the other subjects in the PTE curriculum.
>>>> The debate around
>>>> ICT- pedagogy integration in education and how to
>>>> operationalise it right
>>>> from curriculum development to classroom level
>>>> implementation continues in
>>>> the education circles.
>>>>
>>>> ?In-service training is often
>>>> provided by trainers who
>>>> are just barely literate in
>>>> computers?
>>>>
>>>> In my knowledge, this has happened especially
>>>> in instances when
>>>> some hardware providers ?dangle? teacher training as
>>>> an additional offer to
>>>> the institution. TTCs used to hire ICT technicians to
>>>> teach the course, but
>>>> in the last 2 years, the Teacher Service Commission has
>>>> posted trained
>>>> lecturers of ICT to a number of TTCs. There have also
>>>> been some highly
>>>> professional training offered to college lecturers by
>>>> Microsoft (in
>>>> conjunction with the Institute of Advanced Technology -
>>>> IAT) and the Kenya
>>>> Technical Teachers College. Computers for Schools Kenya
>>>> and the Nepad
>>>> e-schools teacher training programmes have also reached
>>>> teachers in selected
>>>> secondary schools. Lack of co-ordination (as with the
>>>> rest of the ICT
>>>> initiatives in Kenya ), lack of clear training targets
>>>> and time-lines have
>>>> compromised continuity and impact of some of these
>>>> training programmes.
>>>>
>>>> ?The
>>>> entire ICT education is in tatters?
>>>> An interesting analogy there. But I see a
>>>> sector that is struggling
>>>> with what some scholars in educational reform have called
>>>> an ?implementation
>>>> dip? ? that for a number of reasons things normally
>>>> tend to get worse before
>>>> they can get better. There are lots of difficulties in
>>>> implementing large
>>>> scale ICT initiatives in the education sector world over.
>>>> In our country,
>>>> there have been positive efforts by the Ministry of
>>>> Education, the KIE and a
>>>> number of stakeholders in education, and these do count.
>>>> On the other hand,
>>>> there has been the tendency (by education leaders)
>>>> towards elaborate policy
>>>> documents, ?ICT networks? and trust funds whose
>>>> mandates remain
>>>> indeterminate. All these need to be researched and
>>>> accurately presented.
>>>>
>>>> Accurate reporting by the media and objective
>>>> analysis of both
>>>> the positives and difficulties are important in helping
>>>> the public target
>>>> their attention and effort. Besides the inaccuracies, the
>>>> use of expressions
>>>> such as ?in tatters? ?the situation is bad?,
>>>> ?alarmed professionals?
>>>> ?obsolete hardware? to describe ICT in education in
>>>> Kenya sounds to me fairly
>>>> sensational.
>>>>
>>>> Betty
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --- On Wed, 6/24/09, David Otwoma
>>>> <otwomad at gmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> From: David Otwoma <otwomad at gmail.com>
>>>>
>>>> Subject: [kictanet] One subject, varying quality - We
>>>> lack an accreditation
>>>> system for ICT courses
>>>>
>>>> To: ogange at yahoo.com
>>>>
>>>> Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions"
>>>> <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
>>>>
>>>> Date: Wednesday, June 24, 2009, 9:32 AM
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> .....universities
>>>> offer many degrees but their quality and market demand
>>>> differ......
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Although
>>>> nearly all universities offer degrees, only the
>>>> University of Nairobi, Jomo
>>>> Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and
>>>> Strathmore have
>>>> Master?s programmes and only UON and Jkuat teach at
>>>> doctoral level.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> There
>>>> is a diminishing number of staff with PhDs in ICT
>>>> departments. According to
>>>> Prof Rodrigues, UoN has the highest number of full-time
>>>> lecturers with PhDs
>>>> in ICT that stands at eight of 18, while Jkuat has three
>>>> of six, which is the
>>>> same number for Strathmore.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Kenyatta
>>>> University has nine full-time but none of them have a PhD
>>>> or an equivalent
>>>> qualification, while none of the Kabarak?s eight
>>>> lecturers have a PhD. Two of
>>>> six of United States International University has
>>>> doctoral degrees.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Many
>>>> lecturers have no experience as ICT professionals as
>>>> engineers, software
>>>> developers or in the emerging area of computer and
>>>> network security.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> See
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> http://www.eastandard.net/education/InsidePage.php?id=1144017693&cid=316&
>>>>
>>>> for full story
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>>
>>>> David Otwoma,
>>>>
>>>> Chief Science Secretary,
>>>>
>>>> National Council for Science and Technology,
>>>>
>>>> Utalii House 9th Floor,
>>>>
>>>> Mobile tel: +254 722 141771,
>>>>
>>>> Office tel: +254 (0)20 2346915,
>>>>
>>>> P. O. Box 5687 - 00100, Nairobi, Kenya
>>>>
>>>> email: otwomad at gmail.com & otwoma at ncst.go.ke
>>>>
>>>> www.ncst.go.ke
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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