Kapenda Ndimuwanakupa recently completed secondary school in Windhoek, Namibia. The 19-year-old was also recently in Germany on a media internship, which he partly “crowdfunded” using a video that he posted on YouTube. Media-savvy Kapenda is a direct result of his continent’s digital revolution in recent years.
“We all got taught how to use computer and […] information networks, like Google for example, to search information that you can use for class work and doing projects,” he told DW.
Kapenda was attending a state-run school in Windhoek. And his school wasn’t that unique in its computer education, he says.
Schools experiment with tech
Despite Namibia being one of the richest countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Kapenda’s educational experience is becoming less of an exception in other cities in Africa. For three years now, education authorities have been experimenting with media labs in over 60 secondary schools in Abuja, Nigeria, according to Iyke Chukwu, a teacher-trainer for digital learning with the Federal Capital Territory Secondary Education Board. But most teachers aren’t all that enthusiastic about technology, he says.
“[W]hen you bring these ideas, the initial reaction is resistance because they are looking at cost,” Chukwu added.
Teachers are expected to buy their own laptops that they would use at work. And with their low salaries, it would take teachers a few years to pay for a laptop. Companies like HP have stepped in, offering special programs that allow teachers to pay in installments.
Kapenda Ndimuwanakupa recently completed secondary school in Windhoek, Namibia. The 19-year-old was also recently in Germany on a media internship, which he partly “crowdfunded” using a video that he posted on YouTube. Media-savvy Kapenda is a direct result of his continent’s digital revolution in recent years.
“We all got taught how to use computer and […] information networks, like Google for example, to search information that you can use for class work and doing projects,” he told DW.
Kapenda was attending a state-run school in Windhoek. And his school wasn’t that unique in its computer education, he says.
Schools experiment with tech
Despite Namibia being one of the richest countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Kapenda’s educational experience is becoming less of an exception in other cities in Africa. For three years now, education authorities have been experimenting with media labs in over 60 secondary schools in Abuja, Nigeria, according to Iyke Chukwu, a teacher-trainer for digital learning with the Federal Capital Territory Secondary Education Board. But most teachers aren’t all that enthusiastic about technology, he says.
“[W]hen you bring these ideas, the initial reaction is resistance because they are looking at cost,” Chukwu added.
Teachers are expected to buy their own laptops that they would use at work. And with their low salaries, it would take teachers a few years to pay for a laptop. Companies like HP have stepped in, offering special programs that allow teachers to pay in installments.
And a lot of the initiatives, like the one in Abuja, Nigeria, or in Namibia, don’t focus on exploiting the technology that millions of Africans have access to.
“For now, use of phones in school is taboo, so once a teacher sees a student with a phone, the next thing is they are seizing the phone and they can destroy the phones,” Nigerian teacher-trainer Iyke Chukwu says. “It’s sad that we have not yet been able to see the amazing potential in the use of cell phones as an educational tool in our schools.”
Even more people will own smartphones in the near future. Africa’s smartphone market is expected to double within four years, according to US-based market research company IDC. And smartphones are getting cheaper. This year, South Africa-based telco, MTN, released an android-based smartphone for 50 dollars, possibly the cheapest on the market.
Smartphones and mobile devices could one day help solve the problem of access to textbooks because people can download books online at a lower price – or even for free
