AT LEAST 3,200 teachers who, last year, completed a one-year ICT training course conducted by Rwanda Education Board (REB) will, this academic year be deployed to various schools countrywide.The teachers will have the responsibility to train other teachers from their respective schools, a strategy the government has designed to promote and build teachers capacity to effectively teach computer skills or ICT.Dr. Evode Mukama, the head of ICT in education department at REB, told The New Times on Tuesday that REB will assign 120 teachers in every district.“Since February, last year, we have been training these teachers and we now want them to contribute to the ICT development in education through empowering fellow teachers who are expected to teach ICT skills in the schools identified,” Mukama said.According to the official, the initiative will bring teachers in all secondary schools at the same stand as far as computer literacy is concerned; and that this will automatically create a standard computer education or teaching and learning across the country.Mukama said in addition, the teachers will also have the responsibility to educate local leaders and other members of the public especially by using the telecentres which have been installed across the country by Rwanda Development Board. These telecentres are also aimed at enabling rural communities access basic ICT services. This followed a series of programmes both by the private and public institutions or government in promoting ICT usage in schools and by the general public. The most recent is the five year ICT literacy awareness campaign that was initiated by the Ministry of Youth and ICT.Expected to bring on board other players, especially in the private sector including telecommunication companies and financial institutions among others, the government aims at enabling people especially at the grassroot to access information through their mobile phones. Among others, the ICT ministry officials said, farmers should be able to get information concerning market prices for their products as well as government programmes. During the launch of this campaign in Rulindo district, the Northern Province Governor, Aime Bosenibamwe, called upon the population to embrace the campaign, urging that it will effectively contribute to development in terms of providing information to safe guard farmers and businessmen as well.
