Sun City, 16 Feb 2005
The number of ICT-enabled African schools will grow to 600 000 over the next 20 years, says Didier Decluse, Cisco`s country manager for sub-Saharan Africa.
Decluse was addressing delegates on the second day of Cisco`s Networkers Africa 2005 conference at Sun City this morning.
Cisco is involved in setting up the infrastructure for Africa`s e-schools as a corporate social responsibility project. The e-schools initiative was launched by NEPAD in 2003 and offers to provide schools in all 47 African countries with ICT infrastructure.
Only 20 countries have accepted the offer so far, said Decluse. "Some of the African leaders see this as a threat to their current position of power."
The initiative is not designed to replace classroom teachers but rather to assist them, said Decluse. He noted that the greatest benefits of ICT-based schooling lie in cost and convenience.
"Internet publishing is a lot cheaper than book publishing and offers a greater array of sources. It is also easier to update the material."
Decluse pointed out that e-schools can go a long way towards educating people about crucial health issues, such as HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria.
Ethiopia is presently the only African country with a fully-fledged ICT-based schooling system. ICT-based schooling has already been implemented in schools in the UK, Europe and Jordan.
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