An assessment of the use of learning insecondary education in ilala municipality, Tanzania

This study explored the achievements and challenges in the use of e-learning for secondary education, as directed by Tanzania’s Information and Communication Technology Policy for Basic Education (ICTP4BE). The objectives of the study were to assess critically the ICT policy for basic education statements on the use of e-learning in secondary education; to identify e-leaning methods and innovations in secondary education; and to identify e-learning monitoring and evaluation practices. It also identified challenges that secondary school teachers and students face in e-learning practices. The methodology employed was qualitative approach, and a case study research design of the single case embedded. It was undertaken in Ilala Municipality where the sample of population comprised 60 participants. The methods used in collecting data were interviews, administered interviews, focus group discussions, observations and documentary reviews. A study did a critical analysis on ICTP4BE statements on the use of e-Learning in secondary education and came up with the following findings. The achievements of ICTP4BE was installation of computers in 8 public secondary schools out of 49 in Ilala Municipality, which was 16.3 %, and this reveals that the policy failed to reach its objective of nationwide computer spread in all secondary schools by 2015. Furthermore, computer laboratories were not used to teach any other subject except ICT as an optional subject. The government provided minimal financial support compared to that from donors. This made the sustainability of these projects to be doubtful. In connection to that the investigation indicates that only 40% of public secondary school teachers have relatively good ICT competence in these ICT projects schools. To cement this, the study has shown that although fresh teachers learnt ICT during their teaching trainings, but most of them did not gain ICT competence. Furthermore these projects are pilot and they were unevenly sponsored by institutes or organisations. Also open source software (OSS) programmes were not similar in all ICT projects and each OSS, internet provider, e-contents and IT packages project had its sponsor. On top of that, Internet bundles which were provided to these schools were insufficient to use throughout a month although there were few internet academic users. Some of OSS were too general and were not specific to topics on a certain class, even though not all subjects had have e-contents in those OSS. Then subjects which blend e-learning with traditional teaching were ICT, biology, Physics, chemistry, geography, history, Dutch-German, Chinese and French. Science subjects had compact discs (CDs) for teaching complex topics, but were not properly used. Teachers were not motivated that why they do not change their behavior into e-learning practices and innovations. The study indicates that e-learning innovation was neither observed to teachers nor to students. Also there was no any written report for M&E ICT at any school. Challenges to e-learning projects were inadequacy of ICT equipments such as computers and projectors, Television (TV) sets, shortage of power supply and insufficiency of secondary storage equipments, the shortage of e-contents, incompetent ICT teachers, and teachers were rigid to accept e-learning. Recommendations for the study were as follows. The government should intervene fully in financing ICT tools as well as e-learning. Teachers’ colleges should teach ICT knowledge which facilitates e-learning practices. There should be motivation to teachers who blends e-learning.