Francis Kagolo
12 July 2009
Kampala — THE Government should increase investment in information and computer technologies (ICTs) to speed up development, a government official has said.
The permanent secretary in the education ministry, Francis Lubanga, said ICT was crucial in boosting trade and rural transformation.
This was contained in a speech read by the ministry's director for basic and secondary education, Yusuf Nsubuga, at Makerere University Faculty of ICT on Friday.
A total of 150 women received certificates in computer applications following a free three-week training at the faculty.
Nsubuga said countries like Malaysia had developed because of their heavy investment in ICT.
Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba, the faculty dean, said the 150 graduates were part of the institution's community outreach programme aimed at bridging the digital gap.
He commended the education ministry for spearheading the campaign to boost ICT training in the country.
The ministry last year made Computer Science compulsory in secondary schools. It also provides schools with computers at subsidised rate, a project it implements in conjunction with the ICT ministry.
The high rate of unemployment in the country can also be tackled through training the youth in ICT skills, Nsubuga added.
Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba, the faculty dean, said the 150 graduates were part of the institution's wide community outreach programme aimed at bridging what he called the digital divide in the country.
He said they selected women because although they are part of the business and entrepreneurial environment, most of them lack ICT skills.
Other 400 Mulago Hospital staff are also undergoing training in ICT at the faculty, Baryamureeba added.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 New Vision. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
