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No default slideshow found.| Information Technology is not only a western phenomenon |
| Written by Fatmata Sholla Kanu | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Thursday, 09 July 2009 02:05 | ||||||||||||||||||||
 The Executive Director of the Ishaak Muckson Innovative Technology Training Centre, Mr. Muckson Sesay, spent five weeks visiting schools and giving speeches on the importance of information technology for schools in Sierra Leone. Mr. Sesay offered the audiences his vision for the IT sector in Sierra Leone, and explained what his institute can offer to students and teachers who wish to upgrade their computer skills. Speaking in front of hundreds of students and school teachers at Yoni Bana Secondary School (YSS), Mr. Sesay maintained that “my main objective is to integrate computer literacy into the classrooms and build local capacity to ensure sustainability and development outcome.“ Mr. Sesay, who has spent several years abroad where he has developed his skills and experience in the IT sector, explained that computer skills in Sierra Leone need to be streamed from teachers down to students. In his address, Mr. Sesay admitted that “before coming to Sierra Leone, my primary target group was mainly the students; however I’ve come to realized that teachers are undoubtedly in need of computer skills just as much as the students are. As a result, I’m going to implement a comprehensive top-down approach that will allow both teachers and students to learn this great technology”. He further went on to state that his Information Technology centre is prepared to offer special flexible classes for teachers who have a busy work schedule so that they can attend clsses at their convinence. During a general meeting of the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) at the Ishaak Muckson Innovative Technology Training Centre, Mile 91, Mr. Sesay said “Information Technology for the longest time has been regarded as only a western phenomenon. However, globalization has made it clear today that Information Technology should be accessible to every free society. It creates jobs, new opportunities and enhances social networking for youths. It develops a more proficient way of handling information and data, and increases the efficiency, accuracy and transparency of all services.” Speaking of the importance of Information Technology in the country’s economy, the IT expert said “Sierra Leone needs a comprehensive national strategy that would promote the IT sector in order to be a competitive participant in the global economy. These skills are the main fabic that control todays modern economy. We should invest in technology and make it available in our schools and develop a more dynamic and skilled workforce“ While speaking to the head teachers and principals of nearby schools at the newly constructed teachers resource centre at mile 91, Mr. Sesay emphasized that “quality education begins with quality teachers and good training materials. Teachers must constantly upgrade their skills and schools should be equipped with the tools necessary to create an effective classroom. “ He went on to say that “the use of pen and paper for lesson preparation is known to be time consuming and sometimes frustrating… With the use of computer technology, classrooms will be thrilling for teachers to teach and incredibly exciting for students.” Answering questions on sustainability of the institute in a panel discussions on radio UNAMSIL in Freetown, Mr. Sesay noted that“One question that always comes in mind when starting an IT centre in Africa is sustainability. That is, do we have the local technical capacity to maintain the computers? Can less-well off people pay for the service? Where do we get skilled staff from? our team also ask questions beyond sustainability such as, How could such a low-cost IT centre survive without sacrificing sustainability and development outcome ? What will happen to the beneficiaries when the computers are all turned off? And can it be replicable to other communities? Answers to these questions are the defining hope of continuity or discontinuity of such projects. Before starting this venture we spent enough time understanding, asking and answering questions on the sustainability and the viability of such a low-cost IT venture. In this effort we divide the project in three main phases, Phase one is the construction of the centre and sensitization of the general public....Phase two is testing the results and replicability of our first module And Phase Three is rollout phase, if the above two phases are successful, the last phase is to rollout to other communities. However, each phase may take minimum a year or two.... Our goal is to create a replicable model that would span throughout Sierra Leone and even beyond. "
Mr. Muckson Sesay opened an IT school (Ishaak Muckson Innovative Technology Training Centre -www.imittcenter.com ) in his home town of mile 91, Sierra Leone earlier this year. The institute, which is the first IT school in the remote community of Sierra Leone, offers internet services and trains students in Microsoft Windows, MS office suite, printing and photocopying, website design and in other computer–related skills. Mr. Sesay announced subsidies for teachers and students at Ansarul Islamic Secondary who wish to enroll at IMITT Centre. Among the schools and college visited by Mr. Sesay are Fourah Bay College (Mass Communication department), N’jala University (Computer Science Department), Milton Margai College of Education and Technology (MMCET), School of Law, Yoni Bana Secondary School (YSS), Ansarul Islamic Secondary school mile 91, Sierra Leone Muslim Brotherhood Secondary School Mile 91 (SLMB Mile 91), Bishop Conforti Agricultural Secondary school mile 91, and Benevolent Islamic Secondary School 91.Prepared by: Fatmata Sholla Kanu Admin/Finance IMITT CENTRE
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| Last Updated on Sunday, 26 July 2009 17:37 |
