University don calls for ICT use to leverage education

Education stakeholders in both public and private sectors have been asked to cope with the evolving technological change whereby the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is growing at much faster speed in the county. The Vice-Chancellor of the Open University of Tanzania Professor Elifas Bisanda made the call in an exclusive interview during the week long ICT in education exhibition which ended on Friday last week in Dar es Salaam. The exhibition which was organised by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) had attracted education stakeholders in the country including public higher learning institutions to show case the use of ICT as a basic methodology of teaching. He said as the world is emerging with new technological changes now and then, it was therefore important to make use of ICT tools with a view to develop education curriculum in higher learning institutions in the country. Citing an example which is being applied in non-conventional learning centers, Prof. Bisanda noted that ICT is widely used to access various educational information and quite a good number of students have acquired in-depth knowledge through self-learning.

Professor Elifas Bisanda of the Open University of Tanzania

Prof. Bisanda who is a long serving academician and a senior university lecturer noted that, students in higher learning institutions use more time to educate themselves by collecting study materials by themselves, and in view of this ICT helps them facilitate their learning programmes. However, he noted that sometimes students have to use their smart phones connected with internet bandwidth at any time wherever they are and could easily google information relevant to the topics required of them. “This is cost effective learning methodology bearing the fact that, with the help of digital technology most books can now be read online”, he said adding that students have ample opportunities to prefer accessing their reading materials through online. Elaborating more, the don noted that an academic book that could be bought at Sh. 30,000/- can now be accessed in a CD that costs at a minimal price rate of Sh. 2,000/- and moreover this can carry soft copies of over 20 books required of a student to read for a particular course work. In view of the cost effectiveness, Prof Bisanda has urged higher learning institutions and the education stakeholders in general to make use of the modern ICT tools that helps to facilitate the technology for easier access of education materials needed for academic purposes.