ICTTN
ICT
Teachers’ Network
MEMORANDUM:
The
Implementation of
Information
& Communication Technology
[ ICT ] as a
Curricular Subject
in
Primary Schools
May 2005
Contents
Foreword
Introduction
1 Part
1: An Overview of the Status of the School IT Project (SITP)
1.1 The Infrastructural Framework and its Implications on Pupils
1.1.a Resources
1.1.b Connectivity
1.1.c Implications on
Pupils
1.2 Mapping
the Status of the ICT Teacher and the E-teaching Process
1.2.a Nature of the Employment
Contract
1.2.b Repercussions on ICT Teachers, the Principal Agents of ICT Introduction
1.2.c Status
of the Subject and the ICT Teacher
1.3 The ICTTN and the Need to Re-connect
with the Ministry of Education and Scientific Research (MOESR)
2
Part 2: Consolidating ICT Implementation in Primary Schools through the Use of Specialist ICT Teachers
2.1 Positioning the School Reform within the Global Context
2.2 Rethinking the Place of ICT within the Primary School Education Model
2.2.a ICT:
A Curricular Subject with Statutory Requirements
2.2.b Assessing the Key Benefits of ICT as a Subject for the Pupil, and
the National Economy
2.3 Adopting a Strategic Approach towards integrating ICT within Primary
Schools by Trained and Experienced ICT Teachers
2.3.a Defining the
Reasons for Maintaining ICT Teachers as the Agents of ICT Introduction in Primary
Schools
2.3.b The Current and
Potential Roles of existing ICT Teachers
2.3.c ICT
Infrastructure, Connectivity and Professional Development
3
Conclusion:
Paving the Way for an
Foreword
The preparation and presentation of this memorandum on the implementation of ICT as a curricular subject in primary schools follows the numerous publications on E-education by the Ministry of Education and Scientific Research (MOESR) since the beginning of the government’s mandate in 2001. These publications, not always in harmony with each other, have described the latter’s action plans towards the implementation of ICT within the school reform project.
1. Report from the Chairman of the Task Force on E-Education & E-Training
2. Curriculum Renewal in the Primary Sector (Mar 2001)
3. The School Information Technology Project (2001)
4. ICT as a Subject in the School Curriculum (2003)
5. Primary ICT Syllabus Document 2003 – 2005 (May 2002)
6. Reform Project: School Leaving Assessment at Age 16 (Jan 2005)
Whilst the MOESR
recognises the need to position
As a result, the
memorandum is presented in three main parts: the first part describes the
current status of the primary School IT Project; the second part proposes the
reasons for and a strategic approach towards the consolidation of ICT implementation
in schools through the use of ICT teachers; and the conclusion wraps up the
main purpose of this memorandum- paving the
way for an e-confident school, society and nation through the implementation of
ICT as a subject in primary schools by permanent specialist ICT teachers.
The ICTTN wishes to thank Mr. Radhakrishna Sadien, the President of the State Employees’ Federation (SEF), for his invaluable help, advice and support in the preparation of this memorandum, and the members of the ICTTN for their relentless cooperation since the inception of the Network itself.
ICTTN Executive Committee
May 2005
Introduction
To help support the
development of an efficient workforce for sustaining growth in a knowledge
based economy and society and to adapt and thrive in a global IT environment as
an “intelligent cyber island”, Government approved the Information and Communication’s
Technology Project in August 2002 (and) this involves the introduction of ICT
as a subject in our primary schools.
(Ministry of Education and Scientific
Research, Official Website)
The cluster of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) trainee teachers recruited in the year 2002 and trained in the science of teaching ICT in primary schools epitomises the Government’s goodwill in materialising the ambitious project of transforming Mauritius into a Cyber Island, as set out in the quote above. Indeed, the implementation of ICT in schools began in January 2003, under a ‘Contingency Plan’ whereby each ICT teacher would be equipped with at least an ‘IT corner’, including one or several computers (Ministry of Education and Scientific Research, Official Website). This ‘Contingency Plan’ had been developed to compensate for the fact that the 317 computer laboratories required to launch the project were not ready and operational.
Three years later, this memorandum initiated by the ICT Teachers’ Network (ICTTN) critically analyses the first phase of implementation, which began in 2003 and was aimed at embedding ICT as a subject within the primary curriculum, and throws light on its achievements and pitfalls. At the same time, the memorandum also recognises that the potential for real transformation- in e-teaching/learning and society on the whole- remains largely untapped. Consequently, it provides an insider’s perspective on a prospective second phase of consolidation and reform in order to integrate ICT as a subject in primary schools through the use of the expertise of ICT teachers themselves.