Imbewu to promote ICTs in education in Eastern Cape
A programme to promote integration of ICTs in all its operations in order to enhance education service delivery in the province of the Eastern Cape has been initiated by The Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDOE). Imbewu is an ECDOE initiative, sponsored by the British donor agency, DFID that seeks to improve learning and educational services provision in South Africa. This programme aims to streamline ICT usage in the areas of educational management, governance, reporting and consultation as a way of improving service delivery in the sector. One of the major areas of focus proposed includes the piloting of the electronic interactive whiteboard and e-Beam projects.
Uganda govt asks Japan to establish university
Uganda’s Education Minister Namirembe Bitamazire has appealed to the Japanese government to help Uganda transform Nakawa Vocational Training Institute into a university. Bitamazire said the proposed university would help the expected high number of Science students get vocational technology skills.
Bitamazire said her ministry was reviewing the school and education curriculum to make Science and Technological Studies compulsory from primary to university level. The information communication technology policy will soon be adopted to enhance access to knowledge, information and skills through distance education and e- Learning. Bitamazire appealed to the Japanese government to help Uganda construct science laboratories in
secondary schools.
e-Admissions in London In order to comply with the e- Government requirement for all local authorities to provide online school admissions facilities for the September admissions round, the 33 London boroughs have worked together to provide a system via a single portal. The National Project, which is funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government to support 150 local authorities in delivering online school admissions, has provided guidance and research results to aid development of the London system.
UNEP’s Atlas of Our Changing Environment released
One Planet, Many People: Atlas of Our Changing Environment provides a comprehensive, visual presentation of scientifically verifiable information about changes in the global environment, shown through state-ofthe- art remote sensing technology. A collection of 405 Powerpoint slides divided into Regional and Thematic sets covering 11 contemporary and dynamic themes – Introduction to the Planet, People and Planet, Atmosphere, Coastal Areas, Urban Areas, Water and Lakes, Forests, Cropland, Grassland, Tundra and Polar Areas and Extreme Events – and 6 geographical regions – Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America, North America and Polar Regions – can now be downloaded free of charge at http://www.na.unep.net/ nePlanetManyPeople/ powerpoints.html.
Firefox goes popular
The Mozilla Foundation’s opensource Firefox web browser is gaining ground on Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE). According to a recent study on web browser usage, by Netherlands-based OneStat.com, Firefox has gained 1.14% in June and is now used by 12.93% of surfers. This is up from 11.79% in May.
