Distinguished speakers and workshop participants,Ladies and Gentlemen
Thank you for inviting me to say a few words at the opening of this important event when strategies for the implementation of Information and Communication Technologies, ICT, in Secondary Schools of Tanzania will be defined.
Since I arrived in Tanzania only at the beginning of this month I am very happy to be able to make my first statement as head of development cooperation at the Embassy of Sweden on a subject so important to all of us as that of the development of education.
Sweden has for long been a very committed partner to Tanzania in the development of all levels of the educational system. It is therefore only natural now to continue our partnership through support and dialogue on the important questions concerning ICT in education generally and in secondary schools specifically.
The Government of Tanzania is very much aware of the benefits of ICT for the development of the country. This awareness is especially manifested in the National ICT Policy from 2003 and more recently in the “MKUKUTA” - National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty.
To be able to reach the objectives of Growth and Reduction of Poverty in the MKUKUTA the importance of the schools – and specifically the secondary schools - can not be underestimated. I believe ICT is an important tool to face this challenge.
ICT is important in schools, because ICT is important for Tanzania's development – and for a majority of Tanzanians to perform their work and businesses in an effective and efficient way, and there aren't any better way of spreading the knowledge to "the masses" than through the educational system.
It is important to realise that ICT doesn't represent a computer, an email message or a search on the web – ICT represents:• an instant and economical way of knowing what the market price for Cashew nuts is in Dar es Salaam, for a businessman in Lindi, • a list of all books that has been published the last year on HIV/AIDS, for the medical student at Muhimili Medical College • a telephone call from a father in Tambora to his daughter studying in India, costing less per minute than a local call in Dar es Salaam, by using Internet Telephony • a possibility to take a university course while still living and working in Bukoba, through Distance Learning over Internet• a way of making the governance of Tanzania more transparent and more democratic, through access to information regarding Acts, Members of Parliament and resource allocation and use by local authorities.
That is why ICT can be of so crucial importance to the development of Tanzania.
and in the schools ICT doesn’t mean having a new computer in the headmaster office, but ICT means: • a Secondary teacher in Kigoma downloading information from Internet on Tsunamis, the big ocean waves caused by earthquakes at the ocean floor, to be used in a science class the same day • a secondary school student collecting information from parliamentarian web-sites for a survey on gender balances in African parliaments, as a project for school
That is why ICT is so important in raising the quality of education in Tanzania.
only our imagination is the limit for what ICT can be used for and how it can benefit growth and the reduction of poverty.
Therefore I would like to conclude by thanking the people at the Ministry of Education and Culture and others that have worked hard to make this event possible and to thank all of you that are volunteering your time, experience and energy for this workshop.
A sante sana – thank you