By Frederick Philander
WINDHOEK
The growing digital divide in the world is leading to greater inequalities in development, giving rise to those in need not having access to the tools which would enable them to become fully fledged members of a knowledge-based society.
This warning was yesterday sounded by Dr Edem Adubra of Unesco, who delivered a paper on behalf of his organization at a two-day ICT workshop at Namcol.
“The growing role of information and knowledge has led to a new rationale for the function of information and communication technologies in diverse societies. These technologies are now recognized as tools not only for training, but also for progressive social change, the strengthening of human intellectual capacity and the formation of modern lifestyles,” Adubra said.
Representatives of Namcol, Ecuador and Kazakhstan are attending the Unesco-sponsored workshop, which was officially opened by Heroldt Murangi, the Namcol rector.
“Combined with opportunities for lifelong learning, ICT’s can provide individuals with the skills and knowledge they need to cope with the global changes taking place in countries everywhere and with the challenges arising in various areas of daily life.
“ICT’s open up new horizons for progress and the exchange of knowledge, education and training and for the promotion of creativity and intercultural dialogue,” the Unesco representative said.
This global project was started in 2002 linking project sites in Namibia, Ecuador and Kazakhstan.
“Depending on local circumstances, different open and distance learning approaches are used at secondary school level in the countries involved in the project.
“The digital lessons developed under this project have proven to be very useful for tutors and learners, as well as teachers and learners in the formal education systems,” he told the participants, who are in Namibia to share their experiences.
In Adubra’s opinion more and more opportunities for learning are offered outside the formal education systems of countries, many being supported by ICT development and tools.
“But as educational demands increase and supply diversifies, increasing disparities can be observed in respect of access, affordability and quality.
“Therefore, communication technologies play a significant role in development efforts, especially in poverty alleviation,” he concluded.
Namcol’s rector Murangi highlighted some of the problems his institution has encountered with the project.
“The lack of ICT infrastructure may deny end users to engage actively with web-based materials, training in blended solutions was not sufficient and developers initially struggled to use it effectively in developing web-based material which due to various problems could not be properly controlled for quality,” Murangi said.
He proposed some remedial strategies to the workshop, which included: that efforts be made to expand ICT infrastructure in the regions, that training for web-based material be enhanced and that an external evaluation system be established for quality control.