Jaajef wa G-L,
Found this, which might be of interest.
Yeenduleen ak jaama
Tony
Gambia to use the Internet to push education
May 29, 2000
- With barely 37 per cent of adults able to read, the Gambia is looking to
the Internet as a tool to push education into its rural areas and provide a
lifelong incentive for learning. Almost two years after opening its
first gateway to the Internet, all 12 cities are now linked and private
sector use is growing. The United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) which jointly funded national access to the worldwide web
under its Internet Initiative for Africa, is also looking to build literacy and
distribution of the 'printed' word online. It supports the publication of
books in national languages and the Internet has made it possible for
regional education offices and some individual schools to download
them at remote locations. Teachers are now able to share new ideas
and information and receive training materials through local b-connected
offices, avoiding the slow-turning wheels of hard copy distribution.
In a nation where there is not an abundance of literature, community
web stations are seen as an incentive for primary school leavers to
maintain their skills and not relapse into illiteracy. The national telephone
company GAMTEL has plans to support connectivity by offering
low-cost or no-cost telephone connections to institutions for health,
education and women's affairs, together with subsidized user
charges and Internet access for secondary schools. On the back of
these and other initiatives, the Gambia will celebrate Internet
Awareness Week (28 May - 3 June) to help mobilize decisionmakers,
schools, the business community, the media, and the general public to
access community Internet stations and explore available services. The
week will also serve as a prelude to a meeting of the Commonwealth
Telecom Organization, which will be hosted by the Gambia, from 5 - 9
June. (Source : UNDP Newsfront, 25/05/2000)
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