Government approves 5 ICT initiatives for tertiary institutions of Ghana
Federal Government of Ghana has approved five ICT initiatives for the nation’s tertiary institutions to be coordinated and supervised by the National Universities Commission (NUC).
These five initiatives are Students ICT resource centres; computer acquisition scheme for lecturers; upgrade of websites; pooling of bandwidth requirements and video driven lectures. Each resource centre will consist of a cyber centre with at least 200 computers connected to high speed Internet through C-Band. Under this programme, four or more fully equipped classrooms for instructor-led technical training; provision of physical accommodation space for Students Career Counselling and Campus-wide wireless distribution to support future growth would be provided.
Uganda Govt provides solar computers to rural school
The Uganda Government has approved the proposal to provide solar powered computers to children in rural schools. The government has approved the production of the solar-powered computers for use in rural schools. This would be first kind of project in Uganda to provide computer skills to children in rural schools. The computer is powered by a small battery. Inveneo, a US firm based in San Francisco, will produce the computer. The cost of solar powered computer is about $250. It has Internet reception capability and is compatible with both wireless and Intranet.
Ugandan university goes digital
Makerere University in Uganda has become the first higher learning institution in East Africa to install new information and communication technology.
The installed information portal aims to enable students to settle school fees, register, manage their course work as well as crosscheck their assignments with the use of Internet. The portal also includes back end devices that include servers, storage devices, back up devices and a dedicated twenty four hour wide wireless access system through an interactive website www.mymubs.ac.ug that can be accessed at any Internet connection in the world. 15 universities in six other African countries, including Ghana, Liberia and Nigeria have already gone digital.
Digital Bridge Project launched in Liberia University
The Digital Bridge Project has made its public debut at the main campus of the University of Liberia. The Digital Bridge Project is aimed to bridge the digital divide in Liberian universities.
The laboratory includes 200 computers with access to a university Intranet, research database and a VSAT Internet connection. The project will help students to register for courses, get assessments and pay fees online. The aim of the multi-media PC laboratory at the University of Liberia is to partner with Liberia to accelerate its transition to a knowledge-based society in which the currency of exchange is information.
Brunei’s Education Ministry offers one click access service to teachers
The Ministry of Education, Brunei will allow teachers, students and other public members to access various services through new ICT project `MoE Enterprise Service Portal.’
The Education Ministry of Brunei has signed an agreement with local firm TechnoNet Sdn Bhd on the provision of the Enterprise Service Portal, which will set up all enterprise information management (EIM) systems in scale and functionality.
The MoE Enterprise Service Portal is one of the projects under the flagship of e-Education, which is categoried into five programmes, namely Edunet, e-Learning, Education Information System, Digital Library and Human Capacity Building. The portal will provide all services of Education Ministry into one framework, which would be accessed by administrative staff, teachers, students, and the public, according to their respective permissions. The application will run on Singapore-based solutions provider specialising in learning management systems, Dnium’s e-Learning engines and written in Sun Microsystem’s Java Enterprise Edition.
Morocco progresses in e-Learning programmes
Distance learning is gaining momentum in Morocco with help from both the public and private sector.
Around 15 percent of private companies are investing on distant learning programmes. The increased availability and functionality of IT has brought new teaching tools to the Moroccan market, including mobile phones, video- conferencing, e-mail, discussion forums, chat software and document sharing. Recently, Morocco’s finance ministry has decided to integrate a dedicated distance learning service into its organisational structure. The Ministry of National Education has begun work on an interactive television system (TVI), which aims to provide remote training for teachers across the Kingdom. Formademos, a local firm, has launched two Masters programmes aimed at university graduates with at least one year of work experience. One programme offers a degree in “education and employment systems technology”, and the other programme offers a degree in business administration. degree in business administration
