Speaking at a workshop presenting the activities of the Universal Telecommunication Service Development Fund (FDSUT), Guisse opined that the efficient use of ICTs does promote the democratization of access to quality training and education while facilitating the pooling of knowledge.
Moreover, “these ICTs, accompanied by breakthroughs in cognitive science and educational methods, are revolutionizing the methods and practices of teaching and learning”, the ITC expert said, adding that Senegal’s ministry of National Education intends to promote equitable access of educational facilities to equipment, digital and educational resources as well as the Internet.
In the same vein, the ministry is also planning to train education staff and learners in the wise and effective use of digital tools and resources in a bid to improve the quality of teaching and learning.
It also wish to promote local production and sustainable access to these digital resources that must be adapted to the curricula in use, while also setting up an operational device for monitoring and maintenance of the computer park in educational structures at central level.
The Director of Research and Innovation at the ministry of Higher Education and Research, Amadou Thierno Gueye, said that ICTs are “at the heart” of the development of higher education and research.
Their use is thus, according to him, “a new and indispensable component” of universities.
The president of the FDSUT, Aly Cotto Ndiaye, went through the multi-year program of the fund structured around three major axes: the territorialization of telephony and internet coverage, the widespread use of ICT in education and support for high potential ICT projects.