Teachers are computer illiterate, says Dokora

PRIMARY and Secondary Education Minister Lazarus Dokora says teachers at schools are unable not use computers for purposes either than typing despite the fact that the ministry encouraged them to apply Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the education curriculum.

Dokora who has since his appointment to the ministry of education has announced a raft of policies which have been criticized from right, left and centre by educationists made the revelations during commemorations of World Teachers Day in Bulawayo last Friday.

He said it was disturbing that teachers including school heads could not use ICTs yet times were evolving.

"The ministry is not amused with this," Dokora charged. ICTs present a vast field of knowledge if they are explored effectively. The ministry envisages that all teachers and school heads are trained in ICTs and embrace them for their personal and class development."

Dokora also stated he would engage other organisations to partner with his ministry in training teachers ICT.

"These are tools that you can use to teach your pupils. There are various search engines that have so much which you can share with your classes. There is Google and other search engines," he said.

As part of efforts to increase ICT uptake, the education minister said Zimbabwe was sending some ICT teachers to China to advance their skills.

"The country has strong bilateral relationship with China so a crop of ICT teachers will be travelling to China to learn more. I have also had useful meetings with the Chinese embassy on ICT development. We want every district to send teachers so that their schools can benefit," he said.

Dokora revealed that his ministry was working on develop an e-learning software that would be used by all the country's schools regardless of location and one which was compatible with the curriculum changes.

"I have been having discussions with Microsoft to assist the country in developing an operating system that will be cheaper to use," Dokora said, adding:

"The ministry looks forward to signing a memorandum of understanding with Microsoft so that our schools are able to access various processors at a cheaper cost."