Focus Media (Kigali)
Rodrigue Rwirahira
16 June 2009
The One Laptop per Child (OLPC) program produces cheap laptops which it makes available worldwide in order to make sure that, as its name says, every child has access to a computer in order to familiarize itself with ICT. That, however, is of little use if education systems are not organized in a way that allows the full integration of ICT, through the laptops, in the learning process.
It is exactly the mission of the OLPC Global Learning Center to ensure that the computers become part and parcel of education and, it is hoped, thus improve its quality, while respecting the specific cultural context of each country.
In order to bring it closer to its main beneficiaries, many of whom live in Africa, the OLPC initiators decided to relocate the Center, which was operating in Boston, USA. Rwanda seemed a natural choice, not only because of its central location on the continent but also given the country's commitment to becoming an ICT hub.
Yet while officially launching the Global Learning Center in Kigali, President Paul Kagame gave an even more compelling reason for its new base: Rwandan citizens, especially children, are embracing ICT eagerly.
"Once I heard this story about a small kid who was found roaming around the airport with his laptop," the President recounted. "He had been refused inside the building by security guards, so he was looking for a spot outside where he could still have Internet access."
"This shows the enthusiasm and the curiosity of our children for these laptops, which underlines the importance of further developing the ICT national program in order to benefit everyone," President Kagame said.
Best performers
Concerning the OLPC Global Learning Center, he said it would bring innovation and excellence to the education system, which is essential given that ICT is also becoming an integral part of other sectors such as medicine, banking or communication.
The Center, which will be based in KIST, will support the ongoing OLPC implementation and create an African laptop network. Moving it to Rwanda makes sense, according to Nicholas Negroponte, the OLPC founder and chairman, in the first place because the country is among the best performers in the program, together with Kenya, or Uruguay and Haiti in Latin America.
ICT-mindedness also played an important role. "Your country's leadership and vision, and the partnership we have so far developed, show a considerable commitment to bring the modern learning process to grassroots, which is exactly where it should be," Negroponte explained.
The center will train national, regional and international specialists in order to expand the laptop learning program in their respective countries. It is in this regard that 125 students from universities around the world are in the country for two weeks to promote the E-learning.
The impact of the OLPC program is already in evidence, for example in Uruguay, as was explained by Miguel Brechner, the program's coordinator there.
"In the two years since we initiated OLPC in Uruguay, 98% of primary school children have acquired a laptop. Children are now showing greater motivation and interest to learn about technology, while parents and teachers too are getting more involved in the program, all of which is promoting the community," Brechner said.
He added that OLPC has contributed to an increase in school attendance and that technology-based courses in media development such as designing, photography, or music and video production are booming.
Country-specific content
However, some prerequisites need to be met for ICT-based education to succeed. For example, today less than half of the schools have electricity, and only 4,954 out of 33,158 teachers have been trained in computer skills. Moreover, specific content related to the OLPC program has to be developed.
According to Theoneste Mutsindashayka the Minister of State in charge of Primary and Secondary Education, the Global Learning Center will strengthen the local OLPC team in capacity building, technology acquisition and innovation.
He further said that the MINEDUC is working with different institutions like MININFRA and KIST to make sure that by 2012 at least 70% of the schools are electrified, and that all teachers in primary and secondary are fully computer literate.
"Meanwhile, a team of ICT experts is working with the National Curriculum Development Center to develop country-specific digital content," Mutsindashyaka said.
With around 5,000 laptops distributed to date, the government has set itself the ambitious target of extending the OLPC program to all 2.2 million primary school children 2012.
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