[kictanet] Fw: RE: One subject, varying quality - We lack an accreditation system for ICT courses
Mwololo Tim
timwololo at gmail.com
Tue Jun 30 20:36:08 EAT 2009
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>
> =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>=
> 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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