rural

Uganda developed its initial ICT national policy in 2003 in which the framework document recognized that the country needed to embrace the goal of lifelong education for all. The policy also addresses literacy improvement and human resource capacity-building with strategies that include integrating ICT into mainstream educational curricula as well as other literacy programmes to provide for equitable access for all students regardless of level. Efforts have been made to introduce ICT both in primary and secondary schools of Uganda so as to equip learners with the necessary skills and tools that would prepare them for the job market.

Although the country’s national ICT policy lays emphasis on providing infrastructure to schools, this has not yet been realized mainly in rural schools as the adoption level is still low.

There have been hindrances ranging from low income to support the programme, limited power supply to rural schools, shortage of ICT teachers and many others. Irrespective of these challenges, the government has moved on to make ICT education as one of the compulsory subsidiary subjects at secondary levels of education. It is a very big challenge to many rural students and schools as they can’t afford to own computers as their counterparts in urban schools which has created a digital divide among the rural and urban students.

It is behind this background that the Nakaseke Rural Youth Sustainable Livelihoods Initiative was established. The project is conducting an ICT training programme to rural schools and communities to help them acquire skills as a means for literacy improvement and human resource capacity-building in rural areas.

The Nakaseke Rural Youth Sustainable Livelihoods Initiative, a rural youth project that also runs other community development programmes on agriculture and health, started with 3 laptop computers that we used to carry out training. As of now, the project has grown and boasts of 15 mobile computers that can at least accommodate the average class population of 60 students at a ratio of about 4:1. Our project has a committed, competent and experienced training team of trainers with a very rich expertise in conducting and managing ICT training classes. Each day of the week, the team moves to the different schools and communities as per the training schedules. The training involves both theory and practical tailor made lessons.

India is a country of a majority of youth, most of whom reside in villages. However, India's development has concentrated itself mostly on cities, making them hubs of opportunity, while the villages slid back over the years. Although an agrarian economy, with industrialization the focus shifted on big companies in the cities that made much more money, as opposed to the villages where agriculture became increasingly difficult, owing to lack of Government oversight and innovation. As the capital difference grew, correspondingly the gap in opportunity grew along. One of these gaps came about in the field of education.
The cities had and could afford quality private education, but such access is not available to the villages. The Government schools were quickly proven to be inefficient, with high rates of drop-out, teacher absence, under-capacity of teachers, etc.
The question however is that is it really possible to have great teachers for such a huge population as India which send millions of kids to school every year. So how could we bring the best teachers from around the world to everyone?
The other question is, who can be a teacher? Is the traditional concept of a teacher still applicable, where a teacher is supposed to be an expert and a deliverer of information? Why can't we all be teachers, and students ?
The third question is, what is the kind of education that we need? Is it enough to be book experts, as it is now the case in India. Shouldn't education be practical?
Project DEFY is bringing these concepts through hands-on experience and leveraging the internet. The project aims at creating a system where anyone can learn skills in areas of their interest, from high quality sources, in a completely customized fashion, at a makerspace, with fellow individuals, learning out of curiosity, without teachers. A space which has tools and equipment that are used to build things and to learn while building.
 

private high school initiative avoid the insertion of science and technology related humanities in nyangezi due to lack of appropriate equipment for teaching and qualified teachers in science and technology. The support center for the dissemination and teaching of sciences and technology at high school level in rural Walungu and Kabare, NPO, targets 11 identified schools teaching humanities in rural areas in Munya and Mumosho, making it available to schools teaching materials for collective use by above targeted private secondary schools. It aims to create a computer lab, equipping science labs, (physical, biological and natural sciences), creating a reference library, retraining of teachers, support to local communities in promotion of agriculture and environmental protection. ADEST already has its buildings, furniture and 25 computers. It lacks laboratory equipment for science and technology, a reference library and the initiation of self-financing activities.