[kictanet] Fw: RE: One subject, varying quality - We lack an accreditation system for ICT courses

waudo siganga emailsignet at mailcan.com
Tue Jun 30 20:47:56 EAT 2009


Bw Mwololo - I like the wording of the extract you have availed.
THAT should be the policy. I love OSS but Public Policy must me
technology neutral.

Waudo

On Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:24 -0700, "Mwololo Tim"
<timwololo at gmail.com> wrote:

Eng. Kariuki,



This is the only statement I could find:

  "The Government will encourage the growth of local software
  industry by

  increasing awareness among stakeholders of the opportunities
  offered by

  different software models, including proprietary, open-source
  and free

  software in order to increase competition, access, diversity
  of choice and to

enable users to develop solutions".



Yes you are right it is not silent. What I meant was that we are
non-committal on OSS. The policy is "sitting on the fence", so to
speak, and therefore does not provide an explicit direction. This
is what I meant - sorry for the miscommunication



Is there a plan to review this policy any time soon?



Regards



tm







On 6/30/09, John Kariuki <[1]ngethe.kariuki2007 at yahoo.co.uk>
wrote:

  Tim,
  Please look at the ICT Policy of 2006 again and you will find
  that it is not silent on Open Source Software.
  I am sure other listers can confirm this.
  Eng. J.N. Kariuki.
  --- On Tue, 30/6/09, Mwololo Tim <[2]timwololo at gmail.com> wrote:

    From: Mwololo Tim <[3]timwololo at gmail.com>
    Subject: Re: [kictanet] Fw: RE: One subject, varying quality -
    We lack an accreditation system for ICT courses
    To: [4]ngethe.kariuki2007 at yahoo.co.uk
    Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions"
    <[5]kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
    Date: Tuesday, 30 June, 2009, 6:02 AM

  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 <[6]ikua at lpakenya.org> wrote:

    There is also Camara Kenya (the local office of [7]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
    [8]www.lpakenya.org

  Quoting Walubengo J <[9]jwalu at yahoo.com>:

    forwarded--- On Thu, 6/25/09, Emmanuel Khisa
    <[10]emmanuel.khisa at kadet.co.ke> wrote:
    From: Emmanuel Khisa <[11]emmanuel.khisa at kadet.co.ke>
    Subject: RE: [kictanet] One subject,varying quality - We lack
    an  accreditation system for  ICT courses
    To: "'Walubengo J'" <[12]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=[13]kadet.co.ke@[14]lists.kict
    anet.or.ke
    [mailto:[15]kictanet-bounces+emmanuel.khisa=[16]kadet.co.ke@[1
    7]lists.kictanet.or.ke] On
    Behalf Of Walubengo J
    Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2009 8:41 AM
    To: [18]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
    <[19]bksang at education.go.ke> wrote:

    From: Barnabas K. Sang <[20]bksang at education.go.ke>
    Subject: Re: [kictanet] One subject, varying quality - We lack
    an

    accreditation system for  ICT courses

    To: [21]jwalu at yahoo.com
    Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions"
    <[22]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=[23]education.go.ke@[24]lists.kictanet
    .or.ke
    [mailto:[25]kictanet-bounces+bksang=[26]education.go.ke@[27]li
    sts.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.

    [28]http://www.eastandard.net/education/InsidePage.php?id=1144
    017693&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
    <[29]otwomad at gmail.com>
       wrote:

       From: David Otwoma <[30]otwomad at gmail.com>
       Subject: [kictanet] One subject, varying quality - We
    lack an accreditation
       system for ICT courses
       To: [31]ogange at yahoo.com
       Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions"
       <[32]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

    [33]http://www.eastandard.net/education/InsidePage.php?id=1144
    017693&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: [34]otwomad at gmail.com & [35]otwoma at ncst.go.ke
       [36]www.ncst.go.ke


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References

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