Information technology for managing education in Botswana and Uganda

The use of Computerised Information Systems has grown rapidly in developed countries in the past two decades. Developing countries are far behind but some, such as Botswana and Uganda, have introduced such systems. Long-term investment is essential to bring about change. A paper published in the International Journal of Educational Development reports on the use of Computerised Information Systems (CISs) in Botswana, Ministry of Education (MOE) and in secondary schools in Uganda.

The author documents the prevalence of CIS use in these two countries, noting the factors required for success as well as the challenges faced.In Botswana, the activities of its education ministry were computerised to keep track of a rapidly expanding education sector, and were in line with administrative reforms aimed at improving public sector efficiency. A CIS was introduced to the MOE in 1999 to improve the management of the teacher workforce, and has since been rolled out at regional offices and schools. Uganda experienced a rapid increase in secondary school enrolments after universal primary education was introduced in 1997. In contrast with Botswana's top-down approach whereby CISs were introduced by the centre, Uganda experienced a more bottom-up approach when secondary schools began to purchase CISs for administrative and managerial purposes.The uptake of CISs in many developing countries lags far behind, partly because of a lack of skills, funding and computer equipment. This has not really been the case in Botswana and Uganda, but challenges remain. Key findings include:

• Sixty-two percent of schools surveyed in Uganda said they used CISs, while others were planning to use them.
• The range of CIS applications is narrow: they are most commonly used for financial monitoring planning and pupil records.
• In Botswana, five years after implementation at the MOE, information system use is still unsystematic and takes place in tandem with manual systems. • In Uganda, direct and indirect use of the CIS is reported, but this is still limited in terms of hours of use per month. School managers prefer staff to retrieve information for them.
• In Botswana, neither direct nor indirect use of the CIS is high. Generally, senior managers use the system indirectly while clerical staff use it directly.Governments need to realise that change takes place gradually. Key recommendations include:
• Investment in user training and support is needed as managers and the workforce in general lack experience of information technology systems.
• Information systems administrators are highly valuable and must be retained and supported.
• Secondary schools and education ministries in developing countries need to design effective training programmes to increase the uptake of CISs.
• CIS quality should be adequate and meet the needs of users.