Impact Assessment of a School-Based Information And Communication Technology Centre in Binga District, Zimbabwe

This 30-page evaluation report examines the impact of the Binga Information And Communication Technology Centre (ICTC) project, which was carried out in Zimbabwe by the Binga High School School Development Association (SDA), Kunzwana Trust, and Horizont3000.

Excerpts from the "Executive Summary" follow:

"The overall goal of the project was: 'To improve the quality of education of Binga High School and surrounding schools by providing a wider source of education material and creating new opportunities to market and advertise Binga community to the outside world through modern means of communication and technical skills for Internet access'. The project purpose was to:

• build capacity of teachers and community to use the Internet and computers.
• provide the community with technical knowledge on the care of equipment so that there is an increase in the lifespan of the project.
• encourage and assist stakeholders to contribute more content to the Mulonga website so that a constant flow of information on Binga is generated.
• assist the school and the SDA to advertise and familiarise the community with the available services and operating conditions.
• assist Binga High School SDA and stakeholders to fundraise so that additional hardware and software can be bought as well as funds for maintenance.

...Programme Impacts:

• Technological impact: The establishment of Binga High School ICTC (also interchangeably referred to as Binga ICTC) has been widely accepted by staff at the school and the general public. The computers and the Internet have afforded the people the opportunity to access information to which they would not otherwise be able to access. For instance, the dearth in cost of books and study materials has been alleviated by accessing the requisite information on the Internet. In addition, the public can also access newspapers on the Internet as these are not delivered to Binga because of its remote location. The availability of e-mail services has also facilitated a cost-effective means of communication.
• Institutional impact: The project management of the ICTC seemed weak. Consequently, this also adversely affects the activities of the ICTC being incorporated into the broad development plans of Binga District Council. At [Rural District Development Committee, or] RDDC level, there is yet to be discussion of the potential of the Internet to market Binga district (which is one of the objectives of the project).
• Social impacts: The people that have been trained in the use of computers comprise the school pupils, teachers, local government officers and the general public. The school pupils study computers from Form I to Form IV and for the first time this year, there were [Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council, or] ZIMSEC “O” level examination in computers. The general public, especially employees of local government departments, have enthusiastically taken up the computer courses on offer. Most of the officers interviewed were paying for these courses themselves. In addition, some of the officers have embarked on degree programmes and they use the Internet to access information regarding their respective disciplines. There are two chiefs in Binga District who have received computer literacy training, namely, Chief Siachilaba and Chief Saba. These two chiefs have also received the “AlphaSmart 2000” keyboard, but it was not possible to ascertain whether the Chiefs were making use of the equipment. Overall, about 500 people have received training in various computer courses.
• Sustainability of the project: One of the objectives of the Binga ICTC project was to ensure that the project would be self-sustaining in terms of maintaining and replacing the hardware and software. One of the ways was to charge for the computer courses that are being offered. Binga High School ICTC is charging “break-even” prices for the computer courses it offers. However, World Links for Development pays the ISP costs and supplies the software for the Binga High School ICTC....”

Excerpts from the "Conclusion and Recommendations" section follow:

Conclusion

"The Binga ICTC has been widely accepted by the people of Binga, who on their own initiative, realised the importance of availing computer facilities to the community. The Binga ICTC is now hosted in three schools. The contribution of Kunzwana Trust/AZFA [Austria-Zimbabwe Friendship Association] and Horizont3000 in facilitating the sourcing of the computers and providing the requisite training in computer maintenance and training-of-trainers, respectively, is widely appreciated.

The following key developments have taken place with regard to the establishment of the Binga ICTC in 2002:

• The school and general public have access to computer and Internet facilities.
• The Internet is widely used as a source of information to pursue academic studies since books are very expensive and not easily available.
• The Binga ICTC now operates from three schools.

However, there are further developments that need to be pursued if the project is to realize its maximum potential and become sustainable and these are outlined in the recommendations below.

Recommendations

...For the Binga High School ICTC/(Ministry of Education):

• The SDA and the project management board at the Binga High School ICTC need to organise themselves and strategise on how they can fund-raise for the purchasing, maintenance and replacement of computers. This will necessitate that the project management board should develop workplans and reporting procedures that can track this development.
• The Binga [Rural District Council, or] RDC (through the appropriate [Rural District Development Committee, or] RDDC committee) needs to assume a policy facilitative role and this can be done by mainstreaming computer development in the overall district development plans.
• The computer teacher at Binga High School should be trained in website design and he in turn can train other interested parties. Furthermore, the RDDC should then request (and finance) that a website should be designed that markets Binga District and illustrates its potential areas for development.

For Horizont3000:

• In future, should Horizont3000 be requested for a [Technical Assistant, or] TA, it is important to identify a specialist who can also multitask, in accordance with the demands of a developing country. This Consultant is of the opinion that the TA could have assisted in some of the recommendations that have been outlined above, especially as he was able to observe the shortcomings, e.g.,. of the management committee. The Headmaster of Binga High School commented that the TA needed to have invested in teamwork and sharing of ideas.
• It is important to draw up clearly defined [Terms of Reference, or] TORs with indicators for the TA so that the TA’s can also be regularly monitored through progress reports. At the end of the TA’s tenure, the incumbent should be requested to produce a final report that outlines his achievements, the obstacles he faced in carrying the required duties and propose the way forward."