As part of the recent agreement signed by Microsoft and the Ministry of Higher Education in Ethiopia, local educators have started receiving training on using and implementing digital education tools.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – 07 April 2016 – Educators in Ethiopia have started receiving the support, training and guidance necessary to integrate ICT in the classroom and prepare students for the future.
Microsoft and the Ministry of Higher Education in Ethiopia began rolling out educator training as part of the initiatives outlined in their recently signed Education Transformation Agreement. Driven by Microsoft’s Shape the Future initiative, the agreement aims to promote digital access, encourage innovative and creative thinking, develop critical 21st century skills, and build the capacity of local teachers.
The first round of training took place at the University of Addis. Over 40 educators from universities, high schools and primary schools received in-depth training on Microsoft Office 365 Education, to further their knowledge of the online collaboration and communication services available to them. The session was led by Victor Ngobeni, Education Training Manager for Microsoft South Africa, who volunteered his skills as part of the Microsoft MySkills4Afrika corporate volunteering program.
MySkills4Afrika focuses on skills development as a way of building capacity within the African continent, ensuring Africans are globally competitive. Launched in late 2013, Microsoft employees from around the world volunteer their time to support a wide range of individuals and organisations across the African continent, ranging from start-ups, to small and medium businesses, schools, universities, government agencies and individuals including students, graduates and job seekers.
“The various applications that we have been trained on this week all have the power to enable teachers and students to create content, communicate and collaborate with ease,” says Goitom Tegen, a lecturer at the Institute of Pedagogical Sciences at Mekelle University, and one of the attendees at the training.
The ICT sector in Ethiopia has seen substantial growth over the last decade. According to the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, mobile telecommunications has grown from 1.2 million subscribers in 2007 to around 23.7 million subscribers in 2013. For ICT uptake in schools to be as effective, challenges around infrastructure, access, resources, capacity and localised content still need to be resolved.
“To ensure the success of the Education Transformation Agreement, we first need to take important first steps in educating the educators, says Sebuh Haileleul, Country Manager for Microsoft in East and Southern Africa “By developing their skills, ICT can be integrated into the classroom a lot faster. Teachers also play such an enormous role in inspiring innovative and creative thinking in their students. If they know how to use the tools, they can teach their students to not only master the tools as well, but invent further with them.”
For more information on Microsoft 4Afrika and to get involved, visit: https://www.microsoft.com/africa/4afrika
