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Bringing computers to Zambian schools
| Source: | Chilufya Musosha |
| Country: | Zambia [ZM] |
| Sector: | education |
Chilufya Musosha visited three Global Teenager schools in Zambia to examine how they set up and run their computer labs. Read how they mobilise school children to tackle the sustainability issue.
Olympia school is possibly the
poorest school on the Global Teenager Project. Though located in the
heart of the Capital city Lusaka and in a rich suburb, Olympia School
is a true reflection of the neglect that has been characteristic of
many government schools. However, despite the lack of finances and
qualified ICT skilled teachers, they have the biggest heart. Olympia
School through it PTA (Parents Teachers Association) have invested over
10 million kwacha ($2500) in rehabilitating an old classroom into a
beautiful computer lab. This investment however comes at a price - they
have little or no resources to use for other projects. However, they
have instituted a task force that will seek ways of turning this
investment into a long-term sustainable project. The project will start
by conducting a weeklong course on running a small business centre.
This is still under discussion and funds allowing, we should be able to
run the weeklong orientation when funds do become available.
Birdsfield school is also located in Roma Township, an uptown residential area of Lusaka. It is however a complete contrast to Olympia school. The school clearly has the resources and staff to use IT equipment effectively, however, they equally need training in running what I would loosely call a Telecentre.
Everyone agrees that one of the most prohibitive factors in the development of ICTs in Africa is the cost of equipment and the subsequent cost of installations. We have found a fun and affordable solution to this problem. For installations we sought the assistance of 5 energetic boys from Matero Boys Secondary School, who were more than willing to take part in a pilot project to get students to attend short crush course in software installation and networking, and later to set up networks in the above schools.
The boys spent two Sundays at the two schools; food and transport was provided to and from their homes. The result is two schools networked at a minimal cost and an example of youth empowerment candidly displayed. The following is their report:
“On the 24th of September 2002, three members of the Matero Boys Computer Club helped setup a network for the Birdsfield School computer lab.
The project lasted for about 2 hours. Upon arrival we were introduced to a few teachers and later shown the lab. After speculations on how we would organize the cables and deciding which computer was to act as a server, we located our equipment and got the job underway. The tasks required us to cut cables, carefully connect them and clip them. It was difficult at first because we had to show the onlookers that we knew exactly what we were doing, bearing in mind that once the cables were connected, there was no reconnecting. Luckily we gained confidence and kept our cool. Soon we were cutting, clipping and connecting the cables as if we had been doing it for years. Two of us were doing the cutting whilst the third was connecting the cables to the machines.
After 2 long hours of working and telling stories, we finished the job. Not only were we proud of ourselves but also of the 2 teachers present. The problem we discovered was that 3 computers were not compatible, so we decided to leave that to Chilufya, we even helped them fix a speaker which was not functional, but now it works fine.
The work was interesting for us and we learnt a whole lot of things, we just hope we can have a few more opportunities to gain experience and knowledge in the IT world and that next time we get more refreshments.”
The project was indeed a wonderful experience. There are several issues that come up from such projects. Most of the schools do not have the capacity to maintain the hardware let alone pay the huge license fees. There are several recommendations to these problems:
Birdsfield school is also located in Roma Township, an uptown residential area of Lusaka. It is however a complete contrast to Olympia school. The school clearly has the resources and staff to use IT equipment effectively, however, they equally need training in running what I would loosely call a Telecentre.
Everyone agrees that one of the most prohibitive factors in the development of ICTs in Africa is the cost of equipment and the subsequent cost of installations. We have found a fun and affordable solution to this problem. For installations we sought the assistance of 5 energetic boys from Matero Boys Secondary School, who were more than willing to take part in a pilot project to get students to attend short crush course in software installation and networking, and later to set up networks in the above schools.
The boys spent two Sundays at the two schools; food and transport was provided to and from their homes. The result is two schools networked at a minimal cost and an example of youth empowerment candidly displayed. The following is their report:
“On the 24th of September 2002, three members of the Matero Boys Computer Club helped setup a network for the Birdsfield School computer lab.
The project lasted for about 2 hours. Upon arrival we were introduced to a few teachers and later shown the lab. After speculations on how we would organize the cables and deciding which computer was to act as a server, we located our equipment and got the job underway. The tasks required us to cut cables, carefully connect them and clip them. It was difficult at first because we had to show the onlookers that we knew exactly what we were doing, bearing in mind that once the cables were connected, there was no reconnecting. Luckily we gained confidence and kept our cool. Soon we were cutting, clipping and connecting the cables as if we had been doing it for years. Two of us were doing the cutting whilst the third was connecting the cables to the machines.
After 2 long hours of working and telling stories, we finished the job. Not only were we proud of ourselves but also of the 2 teachers present. The problem we discovered was that 3 computers were not compatible, so we decided to leave that to Chilufya, we even helped them fix a speaker which was not functional, but now it works fine.
The work was interesting for us and we learnt a whole lot of things, we just hope we can have a few more opportunities to gain experience and knowledge in the IT world and that next time we get more refreshments.”
The project was indeed a wonderful experience. There are several issues that come up from such projects. Most of the schools do not have the capacity to maintain the hardware let alone pay the huge license fees. There are several recommendations to these problems:
1. Have students trained in Hardware Maintenance skills
2. Use a Linux platform so as to cut down on license fees
3. Have an overseer who will train the students and assist when need
arises especially with regards Linux.
This initiative can be experimented in both girls and boys schools so that both genders are exposed to IT beyond the classroom and also provide more avenues for career choices.