As early school dropout rates in Tanzania continue to be a major problem both in villages and towns alike, a vocational training college is getting to the root of the problem by turning learners into ‘studentpreneurs’ , using a self-sufficiency model where the education pays for itself.
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Digital society at a crossroads: Do we want learners or consumers?
Digital literacy is just as important as reading, writing and maths. This is the message the Mozilla Foundation, the non-profit organisation supporting open source projects, wants to spread as it powers forward to provide a web that’s empowering and educating people. Because, they say, “we can’t do it alone.”
Digital initiatives shaping the future of African journalism
Advancements in training and technology that cater specifically to the needs of African journalists are beginning to pave the way for a new era in African journalism.
Ethiopian entrepreneurs rival the ‘chalk and talk’
Entrepreneurs Eskinder Mamo and Amanuel Abrha were born and raised in Ethiopia, but after completing their higher education in Europe have since been based in Berlin, Germany. After the successful launch of their IT and business consulting startup, they are now determined to use their experience abroad to help contribute to the development of their country of origin.
From farmers to businesswomen: eLearning promotes economic empowerment
Women selling fruit, handicrafts, milk or eggs all have one thing in common: the main problem they have faced up until now is that they have had no way to access markets beyond the one down the road from their farm or home… until now.
‘We had to get creative’: Digi-tales from Africa’s resourceful librarians
Andrew Carnegie once said, “A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert.” Today, libraries are just as important as they were in Carnegie’s time, serving as ‘e-hubs,’ where citizens can access scholarly research from around the world.
Open educational resources: taking charge of technology
“The opposite of ‘open’ isn’t closed. The opposite of open is broken.” This quote, by the open-access advocate John Wilbanks, isn’t just applicable to the realm of data – it’s relevant to education, too.
Live and learn: classrooms explore Ethiopia’s utopia
His wife left him, his family disowned him and he was labelled mentally ill all for trying to create a new way of life, but Ethiopian farmer Zumra Nuru has since proven that his ideas for equality and justice were the key to reducing poverty and increasing development. Starting from scratch in 1972, Nuru has created a democratic, sustainable community, where women and men […]
Re-inventing higher education: online, tuition-free and accredited
After reaching its long-term goal of gaining accreditation in 2014, the University of the People (UoPeople), the world’s first tuition-free, non-profit, accredited online university, is setting its sights on Africa.
Post-2015 agenda: ICTs in education will be ‘very critical’
Plans are currently being laid for a new era of development, as the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) edge closer to their 2015 expiry date. What will replace them will be a more inclusive framework that leverages new technology and innovation to help reach targets.