8 - Information and Communication Technologies in Higher Education in Africa: Initiatives and Challenges

Abstract

African higher education institutions are at a stage where they are striving to im- prove their information and communication technologies (ICTs) infrastructure, con- tent, and skills; making resources available to meet the growing needs of students and faculty; and responding to the pressure for effectiveness. They are also con- fronted with a dilemma of turning ongoing ICTs initiatives into opportunities and understanding what ICTs mean to the transformation of higher education in general and to research, teaching, and learning in particular. This paper examines the in- creasing role of ICTs in African higher education, ongoing initiatives, progresses made, and the dilemmas and challenges.

JHEA, Volume 19, n°1, 2021 - Full Issue

“…The future of ICT in higher education will depend on the ability of government to identify and remove barriers to ICT availability and its utilisation in teaching and research. Adam (2003) and Alemneh and Hastings (2006) consider barriers as obstacles that inhibit or slow down the pace at which lecturers and students adopt ICT facilities in their e-learning contents or in the application of software for the resolution of societal problems. Furthermore, they regard barriers as those aspects of society that make it impossible for teachers and their students to take advantage of digital technologies for development.…”

“…Furthermore, they regard barriers as those aspects of society that make it impossible for teachers and their students to take advantage of digital technologies for development. Though variation exists on the barriers to the use of digital technologies in higher education in Africa, Adam (2003) identified a number of problems that are impediments to ICT utilisation, such as underfunding of university education, inadequate broadband or lack of internet services, lack of or poor supply of ICT infrastructure, nonpossession of technical skills by faculty, resistance to technology-assisted teaching and learning, lacklustre attitudes to the regulation of higher education and poor leadership in the management of meagre resources budgeted for African.…”

“…The university system was therefore extended to citizens who had the requisite qualifications to attend the institutions. It also meant that governments would bear full funding of university education (Adam 2003;Teferra and Altbach 2004). The legacy continued until 1980s when many African countries realised that they could no longer bear the capital expenditure of university education because the number of students was increasing while funding was simultaneously decreasing (Aina 2002).…”

“…The creation and development of the internet is one of the major breakthroughs in human attempts to explore their world, transform their society and expand the way knowledge is transmitted (Barakabitze et al 2019;). While the business community has made significant strides in the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in facilitating commerce and business transactions, the spread of digital culture to higher education has been comparatively slow in many parts of the world, particularly in developing countries (Adam 2003;Barakabitze et al 2019; Commonwealth of Learning 2017). Increasingly, there have been debates around 'digital dividends' and whether digital technologies are distributed to different parts of the world at the same pace (World Bank 2016).…”

“…Increasingly, there have been debates around 'digital dividends' and whether digital technologies are distributed to different parts of the world at the same pace (World Bank 2016). Within these debates are concerns regarding whether African higher education is benefitting from this revolution to transform its teaching and learning (Adam 2003;Teferra and Altbach 2004).…”