SMART ZAMBIA INKS MoU WITH MoE
SMART Zambia Institute, Ministry of Education NetOne and Intel have signed sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to bring Digital Literacy to Zambian Teachers to create affordable access to devices, enhanced training and with that better skills development, and employment opportunities within the country and even across the region.
SMART national coordinator Percy Chinyama said the initial phase of this program would train 10 000 teachers and each teacher would access $2800 worth of training at no cost.
Mr Chinyama said the signing MOU shows the results of the efforts that were being made by the government and the impotency of digitalization in the civil service and everything that they do in the sectors across government and the public.
“SMART Zambia has cluded the MOU with conIntel and other stakeholders to ensure that no educators in Zambia are left behind. The 10 000 teachers through the ICT survey will undergo about $28 million worth of training. This is something that is off our budget as the government and Intel through NetOne are willing to go up to 100, 000 civil servants,” he said.
He said the discussions around the various inputs to be provided for the program began at the recently conducted Innovation Africa event which was held from November 16 to 18, 2022.
Mr Chinyama SMART Zambia Institute in consultation with the various implementers from the other African countries, Intel Corp and Zambia’s very own NEO designed a digital program that incorporates best practices from across the continent to benefit every teacher in Zambia.
He said the key deliverables included in the program were access to good quality devices through affordable financing, access to skills for innovation.
Mr Chinyama said the selfpaced digital literacy program could be completed within 12 months and was aimed to equip any non-user to a fullfledged technology user.
He said in line with the eighth National Development Plan, the Government through the MOU envisages to enhance the delivery of education using ICT platforms and ensure that schools were adequately equipped to deliver quality and relevant education.
Mr Chinyama said the focus would be on enhancing the supply of educational requisites, such as computers and printers through Intel strategic partner NetOne and their OEM partnership would have NEO devices bundled with digital literacy for educators.