ICT for all schools 2020?

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson – (AR-Wilson)

With effect from January 2020, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will become a core subject for all school going pupils ranging from class 1 to SSS3 attending various schools in Sierra Leone. The Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Schools Education (MBSSE) has confirmed.

“The Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Schools Education (MBSSE) has now adopted Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into the entire basic and senior secondary education in Sierra Leone as a core subject from class one through SSS3, and as electives from SSS1 through SSS3.”  An official statement dated 13 November, 2019 States.

The reason for the adoption and integration of this subject into the teaching and learning environment, the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE), says is to provide more opportunities for teachers and students to match the globalized digital age since Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is becoming increasingly important in daily lives of people and in the country’s educational system which may provide many opportunities for teachers and students to operate, store, manipulate and retrieve information, encourage independent, active learning and self responsibility for learning that will motivates both teachers and students, MBSSE emphasized in a statement.

However, the integration of ICT in the country’s school system has given rise to the following questions from some citizens especially parents:

Why not bringing back into the school system CIVICS education which awakes consciousness on pupils about their country’s tradition and teaches them good morals?

Is this not opening the door for fraudsters whose means of survival has been attached to rubbing Newbie and other users of ICT?

As globalized already, is ICT not bringing more evil on our children, who have grown so much love for social media platforms than reading notes?

How ready is NATCOM to regulate mobile network and other service providers in the country?

Are the equipments ready for such development?

Will students not totally abandon school and regional libraries?

What will it cost us as a nation in a time like this when the government has invested so much cash on text books for school children?

Meanwhile, it is but very relevant that the MBSSE looks carefully into the above questions and find possible answers for them before the proposed date for the actual integration of ICT into secondary schools to enable to actualize this vision to digitalize the school system of the country.