Survey of ICT and Education in Africa : South Africa Country Report

Isaacs, Shafika

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: ACCESS TO TRAINING;    ACHIEVEMENTS;    ADDITION;    ADULT BASIC EDUCATION;    ADULT LEARNING;   

RP-ID  :  46364

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This short country report, a result oflarger Information for Development Program (infoDev) -supported survey of the Information and CommunicationTechnologies (ICT) in education in Africa, provides ageneral overview of current activities and issues related toICT use in education in the country. In all the differentfacets of the ICTs for education prism, South Africa boastsmore than a decade of accumulated experience from its widerange of projects and programs pioneered by noteworthychampions across the stakeholder spectrum of communities,the private sector, civil society, donor, development, andgovernment agencies. A variety of tested models on ICTaccess, digital content development, teacher training andprofessional development, optimal usage, partnerships, andresource mobilization have encouraged significant learningamong innovators, practitioners, and policymakers. The scaleof all these interventions to date has led to at least 22percent computer penetration in all public schools. WhileSouth Africa has a policy on e-education only for theschools and Further Education and Training (FET) collegesectors, herein too lay animated debate on the optimal waysto implement the policy. Over the coming period, with SouthAfrica acting as host for the 2010 World Cup and thenational government embarking on accelerated economic growthstrategies, the race is on to move to broadband and promoteubiquitous ICT access. South African education institutionsin general, and the schools and FET college sectors inparticular, are set to grow significantly in ICT access,teacher training, and professional development and usage.However, major challenges still need to be overcome, such asthe lack of a comprehensive policy on ICTs in education thatcovers all sectors in education, the continued need forleadership and co-ordination of various initiatives, thepromotion of enhanced learning through optimal usage of thetechnologies, and, above all, the need to demonstrate thevalue of the investment in ICTs through improved performanceof learners and teachers and improved employability in thechanging labor market.