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Computers in secondary schools in developing countries: costs and other issues
Computers in secondary schools in developing countries: costs and
other issues (including original data from South Africa and Zimbabwe)
By Andy Cawthera
Executive Summary
This research is mainly concerned with the costs of computers in
schools in developing countries. It starts with a brief overview
of the information revolution and its consequences. It then
briefly examines some of the arguments for the use of
computers in schools in developing countries, before reviewing
previous work undertaken on the costs of such provision. An
analysis of this literature indicates that the costs of equipment
(hardware and software) may account for only 16-20% of the
total cost of computer provision (excluding salaries) over five
years.
The cost data gathered at school / telecentre level, as a
part of this research, is then analysed. A framework which
yields data on: housing, equipment, training, running and external
support costs was developed and used to gather this data. The data
is categorised into Basic, Basic plus and Deluxe provision. Basic
and Basic plus provision use second-hand / refurbished
equipment, with Basic plus provision also providing training
and support. Only Deluxe provision purchases new equipment. In
addition to this a rural school, community based telecentre provision
and commercial provision are looked at. The data supplied is
analysed with various figures being produced for the different
categories including:
- Annual cost per regular student user., varying between
about US$10.00 and US$644 with a figure of between $20 and $30
appearing to be fairly common and attainable. The variation occurs
mainly due to the level of usage, provision of training to teachers
and the number of students per computer.
- Cost per computer over 5 years., varying between about $1,000 and
$10,000 depending on whether new or second-hand equipment is
purchased, the amount of training and support provided and the amount
of and cost of connectivity to the web.
- Actual regular users as a % of possible regular users., varying
between 3% and 111%, with 20% - 30% being common.
The paper then proceeds to raise other issues which can affect
computer provision and utilisation including the processes of
allocating provision, training of teachers in the use of ICT and
models of provision.
Conclusions are then drawn and recommendations made which can be
summarised as follows:
- The usage of existing computing facilities is often only a
fraction (average around 20-30%?) of what it could be.
- Probably the best way to both reduce unit costs and
increase provision is to extend usage. Research is needed
into actual computer usage in schools, the barriers preventing
increased usage and how these might be overcome.
- For planning effective computer provision it should be realised
that the costs of equipment tend only to be a fraction of the total
cost of provision over 5 years. This research indicates that the
total cost of ensuring effective computer learning in schools over a
five year period (excluding teacher salary costs) could well be
around five times the cost of procuring computer equipment.
- The training of teachers in the use of ICT in schools is an
important aspect of provision which may often be overlooked and under-
budgeted. Low-cost, easy-to-use training packages need to be
developed as a part of the solution to this problem.
- Policy makers need to be aware of the range of computer provision
available. Expensive, state of the art equipment is not essential to
achieving good educational outcomes.
- Careful consideration should be given to the processes involved in
the provision of computers in schools so as to ensure high levels of
usage (see section 6).
- Where there is sufficient usage, computer labs should have a
minimum of 20 computers. This will reduce unit costs by spreading
the high fixed costs of training over a larger number of users.
- Benchmarks and ratios for usage and costs need to be developed
against which to monitor the efficiency of computer provision. Four
of these are suggested in this paper.
- Schools are likely to need assistance with planning and managing
income generating
activities if these are seen as a way of meeting running
costs. Small enterprise
development agencies may be an appropriate source of such
assistance.
- The cost of computer provision in rural areas need not be
prohibitively expensive. Data
from Myeka High School suggests that this could be achieved in
schools without mains
electricity or landline connectivity for under $20 per student per
year provided there are high levels of usage.
read complete paper at
http://www.imfundo.org/computercosts/computcosts.htm
