Zanzibar* Ministry of Education chooses W2K
In an effort to leverage technology to address the challenges of education, the Minister of Education in Zanzibar has implemented a program, with the support of the World Bank, to construct a series of Hubs on the islands of Unguja and Pemba. These hubs, each of which supports up to five secondary schools, will house educational facilities including three main laboratories: a modern science laboratory, a computer-based language lab, and a 30-workstation computer room.
During his trip to Tanzania in March, Founder Stan Muessle met with the Minister to introduce Windows to Knowledge (W2K) as the software to turn the computer room into the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) that the Ministry envisioned for its students and teachers. Things moved fast from there. A Ministry team came to Iringa to visit Global Outreach, tour installed schools, and visit with teachers and Heads of School to strengthen their evaluation. Executive Director Maryline and W2K Manager Grayson presented the system at the Ministry’s annual meeting of stakeholders to much enthusiasm from teachers and Heads of School. Plans were drawn up. Then, during October, our team installed software and did training at a pilot Hub on each of the two main islands. Installation for the other 20+ Hubs will begin in February.
In 2022, W2K will be available for 49 Zanzibar schools, roughly 25,000 students, on fixed schedule at the Hubs. (We forecast W2K penetration of more than 40,000 students nationwide.) By the end of the year, we hope to have in place a plan to reach students in all the islands’ remaining secondary schools.
To say we are excited is a huge understatement. The impact on credibility of our technology is game changing. Slowly but surely stakeholders are appreciating the wisdom of an off-line learning platform, full of elective downloaded materials. It is the most cost effective, efficient, reliable, and safest way to provide a VLE in today’s developing nations, where the challenges of the internet are still formidable. We are thrilled to be working in partnership with education leaders who not only understand that formula, but are ready to embrace it to improve learning for their students.
WOW – together we really are making a difference!
Geography note: Zanzibar is a collection of two large and several small islands just off the coast of the Tanzanian mainland. Althought it is actually part of the United Republic of Tanzania, it has its own president and several of its own ministries (eg Education). Questions about how this works in practice are referred to a more enlightened source.
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