ICT-Connect-TED - Tanzania

The ICT-Connect-TED is a project that links teachers’ training colleges across the country. The project provides training on ICT use, ICT cost management, maintenance and an ICT helpdesk for over 8000 principals and teachers. ICT-Connect-TED is a platform for mutual activities of teachers’ colleges. The project also has a newsletter and information services. After IICD support ended in 2005, the project was integrated into a follow-up programme of the Ministry of Education, funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida).

In Tanzania, the poor performance of teachers in schools is often caused simply by a lack of information and the absence of the means to communicate and cooperate effectively with their peers in other schools. ICT-Connect-TED has managed to provide 44 teacher training colleges in Tanzania with computers and a networking infrastructure that allows participating teachers to exchange information. Since, by the end of 2004, the project managed to achieve its goal of connecting all of Tanzania’s teacher training colleges (TTC) to the Internet and setting up a network linking all of them together, the project is now focusing on content development, via a regular newsletter and other communication related activities. It also provides ICT training for TTC staff. These include a training in business development (addressed to principals) and one on computer maintenance (addressed to tutor-technicians).

Read more about IICD's Tanzania Country Programme.

ICT-Connect-TED has managed to provide 44 Teacher Training Colleges in Tanzania with computers and a networking infrastructure, including the necessary software to run them.

After the project went into independent continuation in 2005, the Ministry of Education with support of Sida continued supporting the 32 government-owned teachers’ colleges with additional ICT training for tutors, improved internet connections, and thin client computer labs. Read more about this follow-up project.

The main objective of the ICT-Connect-TED project is to facilitate and promote easy and relatively cheap communication between the principals, tutors and administrators of Tanzania’s Teacher Training Colleges. By providing the colleges with internet connectivity and improving the computer skills of staff members, teachers’ colleges are able to manage their resources more efficiently.

The long-term development impacts of this project are substantial: as the overall level of education improves in the teachers’ colleges, this has a trickle down effect on the education sector as a whole: teachers in general are more qualified, computer literate, in a better position to share knowledge with their peers in other schools, and able to access a wide variety of teaching materials via the internet. All in all, this project helps to boost the general standard of education nationwide.

Read more about IICD’s approach towards Education.

ICT-Connect-TED was developed in a bottom-up way. The project on connecting the Teacher Training Colleges is strongly integrated. The main reason was strong involvement of all principals and their senior staff in training and prototype formulation activities. Freedom and individual responsibility were given to each principal in making hardware choices. Also support services and some content was available. Principals selected a Steering Committee that developed and managed the prototype in close relationship with ADEM. By implementing through ADEM, the prototype got support from the responsible director within the Ministry of Education.

ICT-Connect-Ted was owned by the Agency for Development of Education Management (ADEM) and Teachers’ Colleges. ADEM promotes qualitative and quantitative improvement of the Tanzanian education system through training, research and consultancy in educational management and administration. The project is now integrated in a programme of the Ministry of Education.