Transformation-Ready: The strategic application of information and communication technologies in Africa. Education Sector Study. Final report

The future development of Africa will be heavily influenced by how Africa manages to deliver quality education to its citizens.  This study examines the potential for using ICT to support the improvement and transformation of the education sector in Africa, with the aim of raising awareness and stimulating action, especially among African governments and development partners. It identifies specific opportunities and challenges, and recommends areas of intervention for governments, educational institutions, the private sector and NGOs, and development partners.

Recommendations for policy-makers and regulators:

• establishing an enabling policy environment  - ensure that investments in ICT in education are, as far as possible, directed by a single, integrated ICT-in-education strategy so that they are working towards common national strategic objectives
• widen access to ICT infrastructure and connectivity - implement programmes that enable students, teachers, and administrators to gain access to suitable computing devices, and that support the development of National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) as a means to enable resource-sharing and collaboration
• harness ICT to improve management and administration  - promote data-driven decision-making at all levels.  The focus on data usage at all levels implies that investment in the future of Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) development should focus on schools (public and private, formal and non-formal), colleges and universities that provide the data
• harness digital learning resources  - consider judicious investments in content creation and aggregation to ensure compliance with African curricula and/or local language demands, motivating usage by educators and students
• building human capacity  - adopt a suitable global professional development framework to guide national implementation of ICT in education professional development

Recommendations for development partners:

• ensure that funded projects contribute to implementing the initiatives outlined in the recommendations for policymakers and regulators
• consider investment in the enabling environment, and investments at a regional or continental level that build common capacity across countries
• continue to fund pilot projects that test the use of new and innovative technologies, ensuring that these experiments are well evaluated and the results widely shared
• ensure that the intellectual capital generated by funded projects is shared under a suitable open licence and made accessible via an appropriate web platform
• undertake an evaluation and impact assessment of regional initiatives at different stages of development and implementation