[kictanet] Ongeri Hurray on ICT Bus

Tue Apr 6 22:29:13 EAT 2010

Thanks  a lot Bwana PS for your comprehensive response on this issuue regardless of my getting into this discussion too late. I am very sorry about this lateness.  Of cause  I did  not mean political or legal feasiblty, as this could only mean "a sacred  cow project. " What I had in mind tends toward economic and technical feasibilty. Of cause not commercial viability.  You have indeed responded comphensively in all areas, therefore I don't intend to pursue the matter any further.  However, there are few points of interest which I would wish to share (but not into details).

It may not necessarily require to carryout feasibility study to deploy computers in rural schools, but it may be necessary, at the very basic, to gather some information e.g. availability of power, and connectivity or broadband access (fixed and mobile network coverage), before distributing computers to theses schools.  This may sound simple, but there are a few of cases in the past where computers have been donated to some schools in rural areas before electricty is connected.  To carryout this kind of exercise may not require paying someone huge sums of fee.  This can be done using even internal resources (assuming they exist), with minimal help from a local consutant. Some of the data may be readily available and whta may be requred is only to convert it into useful information.

Digital villages in each constituency was "a very bright idea".  This could be usefull in nhancing demand for ICT to rural commuinities and to extend the same to schools as well.  This is where public private parnership could play a fundamental role, with involvement of all the satakeholders.  Alternaetively the ministry of education (with the rural communities) could identify at least two  distritric/ provicial schools (Boys' & Gilrls' OR Mixed) in each constituency where there is braodaband access (assuming electricity already exists), or the Ministry of Ifo. could work with the service providers to provide broadband aceess last mile distribution.  In this case the cost of overeheads required to run such a prpject will be minimal (no fuel to run the bus, no bus drivers, no maitenace costs of buses due to poor condition of rural access roads).  Also some schools may be located in "shadow zones" with no signals, and will not be linked by "ICT
 Bus".  The eviroments differ in every country, though "adaptation" can also work. 

With the use of digital villages or ICT school labs, then the excellent, bright and succesful initiatives/projects  such as Data Centres, NOFBI, Teams, etc.  can be of greater benefits to the rural schools through e-Learning.  To train the teacher first, on how to use ICT, before traing the child is importnat, to avoid or limit computer numbers gathering dust in some corners. Similar appraoch/pilot project can be replicated for e-Health to connect all district hosiptals to a Central Data Portal. In this case, training the doctor before nurse is essential. Is to importnat to note that involving too many committes in a prpject is a challenge. "Too many rats never dig a hole."  Having a Data Centre without (or limited) access/connectivity  may negligible impact or benefit. CDF management is already complex and challenging. This where one meets with numrous political projects at times.  

I intend to stop here, and not to pursue it any more. However, I can expand my thoughts in another forum.   Thanks for the good work and great ideas.

Regards

Vitalis

________________________________
From: "bitange at jambo.co.ke" <bitange at jambo.co.ke>
To: Vitalis Olunga <volunga at yahoo.com>
Cc: bitange at jambo.co.ke; KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
Sent: Sun, April 4, 2010 7:08:38 PM
Subject: Re: [kictanet] Ongeri Hurray on ICT Bus

Dear Vitalis,
My brother you are getting into this matter too late.  For a start, you
are confusing issues when you ask for a feasibility study.  Although I do
not know which feasibility (legal, economic, technical etc) you wanted in
place, it is unwise in my view to pay someone to do a feasibility study on
whether you need to deploy computers in the rural areas.  Before we made
the proposal to treasury, we developed a concept note and observed a
similar bus that has been providing similar services to kids in Mathare
and Kibera.  The concept is based on an Indian model that has been very
successful in arousing interest in ICT (boosting the demand side) in rural
India.  Basically, the objective was to create demand for ICT services
among the rural folks, introduce ICTs on a pilot basis to schools, youth
and villagers in all constituencies.  The project was to be supported by
digital villages throughout the country.  Each bus was to have two
qualified ICT instructors and managed by District Education Boards as well
as CDF committees.
This was a well thought idea and fits in with devolved resources idea that
we have all been pushing as a basis of equitable distribution of
resources.  The project was fought from day 1 as not feasible.  To date
nobody has tabled a feasibility study that helped them arrive at that
decision.  Ni kupiga mudomo tu.  Why do we make so much noise about
devolved funds if several committees cannot manage one bus per
constituency?  Several studies show that countries that bought computers
and simply put them in class have not seen the benefit since not even the
teachers use them.  Why?  Because they did not create the demand for ICTs
in the first place.  In places where you have digital villages, you hear
people talking about their e-mail, people wanting e-learning platform etc.
We have been successful with digital villages because we avoided
unnecessary subsidies and introduced them as enterprises.  Several
countries deployed these digital villages through NGOs, Donors and direct
Government subsidy.  They have failed.  The bus was to drive demand for
e-services in rural areas.
Where we are in terms of development, we need to take a bit of risk by
moving to design and implementation and stop wasting resources on the so
called feasibility studies.  Teams, NOFBI, GCCN, Data Centers, etc are
some of the most successful projects that were done in record period by
simply moving to design and implementation.  Of course design begets you
technical feasibility.  Much of economic feasibility can be discerned
through googling similar projects.  Note Piloting a concept that has
already succeeded elsewhere and within does not require detailed
feasibility since you know the outcomes.  Further it is usually difficult
to quantify social benefits as in the bus case in order to have an
objective feasibility study.

Ndemo.

> Sorry to respond on this a little bit too late.  My question is whether
> whether there was any feasibility study carried out before allocation of
> funds to  this "ICT Bus Projects."  It would be prudent to share such a
> report with satakeholders. The sustainability of such a project could be
> questionable. If other strategic alternatives (including building computer
> labs in schools) were considered, then the reasons for making this choice
> (ICT Bus) would be of interest to share, even if it is meant to be for a
> quick fix solution.  E-education/learning is definitly a very important
> area that needs to be given a priority and .  There are some
> interestesting analyses
>
> Regrds
>
>
> Vitalis
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: robert yawe <robertyawe at yahoo.co.uk>
> To: volunga at yahoo.com
> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> Sent: Thu, March 25, 2010 5:39:31 PM
> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Ongeri Hurray on ICT Bus
>
>
> Hi,
>
> I refuse to acknowledge the regional issues because I come from an in an
> industry that has no ethnicity or regional divide.
>
> I plead with you stop selling yourself short by getting embroiled in
> political side shows, if we set out our objective and kept to the plan we
> can achieve what I have proposed and more.
>
> Even if I asked you to volunteer to go to Mandera and teach ICT you
> definitely will not, it makes more sense to train the teacher already on
> the ground.  We can roll out across the country simultaneously as we are
> not using a single contractor to build the labs or install the solar or
> the cabling. 
>
> Just like with the CDF if the area representatives cannot identify their
> priority areas then lets not try to force it down their throats. 
>
> Before teaching a man to fish make sure he does eat fish.
>
> Technology knows no bounds only the human mind constrains itself
>
> Robert Yawe
> KAY System Technologies Ltd
> Phoenix House, 6th Floor
> P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200
> Kenya
>
>
> Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: "bitange at jambo.co.ke" <bitange at jambo.co.ke>
> To: robert yawe <robertyawe at yahoo.co.uk>
> Cc: bitange at jambo.co.ke; KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
> <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> Sent: Wed, 24 March, 2010 19:15:50
> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Ongeri Hurray on ICT Bus
>
> Robert,
> Things are not as easy as you write here.  Today in Kenya you cannot try
> to do anything without taking into account of regional interests.  I hope
> you are watching the constitutional process and the regional emotions.
> Imagine if we were to start with schools in the ASAL region promising to
> cover the entire country in the next five years.  Consider that Ministry
> of Education does not have adequate number of teachers as we speak yet you
> will need at least one computer teacher in the 20,000 primary schools and
> 9,000 secondary schools.
>
> If we need to close the digital divide, we all must change.  We must for
> example begin volunteering to teach both the students and the unemployed
> youth computers.  By so doing, you will one day live to say what you did
> for your country.  Like it is said "it is easier said than done".
>
> Regards
>
>
> Ndemo.
>
>
>
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> It seems that some sanity is coming into the education realm with the
>> Hon.
>> Minister Dr. Ongeri canceling the proposed ICT Bus project, I believe
>> once
>> bitten twice shy.
>>
>> The project was to cost Kes. 1.2  B with each bus costing Kes. 7 Million
>> which equates to 171 buses that is roughly 24 buses per province this
>> was
>> surely another scan in the making.  I remember the MP of Kisumu Hon.
>> Shabbir raising the issue of the buses and getting dismissed as a self
>> seeking technology Neanderthal, lets hope this is the beginning of 
>> sanity
>> in the ICT arena, but if I was you I wouldn't hold my breath.
>>
>> I suspect that the concept of mobile computer labs was a thinking from
>> the
>> mobile library project but someone forgot that with a library the books
>> are left behind.
>>
>> With Kes 7 million we could do much more than just a single bus with 20
>> computer that requires a driver, insurance, service, generators, and
>> many
>> other thinks.
>>
>> Here is my suggestion on how the 7 million could be better utilised to
>> meet the objectives.
>>
>> - 20% to be used for physical facilities (stone & mortar) - Kes. 1.4 M -
>> This can build 150 sq m of classroom space inclusive of electrical
>> wiring
>> & burger proofed windows. An average computer lab is 15 sq m which means
>> we can build 10 labs and each can accommodate 20 screens/pcs.  We could
>> build even more labs if the Ministry if Housing provided the
>> interlocking
>> soil block making machines
>>
>> - 30% to be used for provision of power to the lab - Kes. 2.1 million we
>> which we need to provide sufficient power.  The computers will need to
>> be
>> low power consumers therefore we use TFT screens and cpu sharing devices
>> that allow 1 computer to be used simultaneously by 4 or more students.
>> With this our power requirement for each lab would be below 1,000 VA
>> which
>> can easily be supplied by a few solar panels and a battery bank.
>>
>> - 20% for the actual hardware - Kes. 1.4 M - DC powered computers,
>> printers and GSM modem with a good proxy server to provide local
>> caching.
>> This will also include structured cabling which will be done by the
>> graduats of the kazi kwa Vijani initiative where they will have been
>> offered technical training.
>>
>> -  20% teacher training - Kes. 1.4 M, even if we have them certified in
>> ICDL we shall be able to train 66 teachers which would provide enough
>> computer teachers.
>>
>> - 10% well I leave you to decide what to do with that, note that there
>> are
>> no recurrent costs such as drivers, diesel, electricity costs (God does
>> not charge for solar, yet).
>>
>> The 10 labs can be used by the schools during the day and could be made
>> available to the community in the evenings and as digital villages over
>> the weekends where content can be generated, yes local content (ask me
>> for
>> details).
>>
>> Now that I have spend the equivalent of 1 bus to create 10 centers why
>> won't we actually do this, because I did not factor in the feasibility
>> study costs, 30%, seminars and workshops 50%, sitting allowances 20% and
>> well nothing else to include as the preliminary costs have already
>> consumed the 7 million.
>>
>> Ongeri hurray but lets hope the money will not go to drinking water and
>> writing materials for a bonding session.
>>
>> Regards
>>
>>
>>
>>  Robert Yawe
>> KAY System Technologies Ltd
>> Phoenix House, 6th Floor
>> P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200
>> Kenya
>>
>>
>> Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696
>>
>>
>>
>>
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