Browsing: STEM

Tapping science and technology to keep Zimbabwe’s education ablaze

Industry and Trade

After a decade the Government launched the Presidential e-Learning Programme of 2011 which aimed to strengthen the use of ICTs for teaching and learning. In an article published by the Herald on March 28, 2012, former President Mugabe said the projects brought on board e-learning software solutions to complement the benefits of the Presidential Computerisation Programme launched 10 years back.

“Encouraged by the Presidential Computerization Programme, the first successful step of transforming Zimbabwe into an information society, we have now decided to go a gear up and add value to the initial programme by introducing a new dimension to it, this time, in the form of an e-learning Programme,” he said.

The Connect a School Connect a Community Project was launched in 2013, it provided disadvantaged schools with modern technology. Afterwards, Zimbabwe drafted through the Ministry of ICT, Postal, and Courier Services a National ICT Policy that acknowledges a role…

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Africa: Breaking barriers to promote Women and Girls in Science

Africa

Taking into account the 2022 International Day of Women and Girls in science; it’s imperative to assess the state of Africa’s water security which needs to be urgently addressed.

Africa is bearing the brunt of the climate change crisis, yet had no hand in its creation only contributing a paltry 4 per cent of the global greenhouse gas emissions; spelt by the numerous natural disasters from floods, drought and famine, locust infestation to tropical cyclones, which have put significant water stress in the continent.

In a series of initiatives, African leaders are spearheading strategies for resolving the quandary pertinently its impact on Africa’s water security and sanitation. Nearly 63 per cent of urban areas in Sub-Saharan Africa lack access to basic water and sanitation.…

Gender-responsive research key to agricultural productivity

Agribusiness

The report further notes that smallholder farmers across Africa are looking to science to boost farm productivity and to tackle emerging threats, partiuclarly with regards to climate change and pandemics as demonstrated by Covid-19. Gender and diversity in agricultural research are crucial to create and implement effective solutions to these critical issues and contribute to broader development goals.
Less than a quarter of agricultural researchers in Sub-Saharan Africa are women and only 14 per cent of those in leadership positions in agricultural research are women, according to 2017 research commissioned by AWARD. Furthermore, women account for less than 16 per cent of the research labour force in agricultural sciences in francophone African countries.…

East Africa Must Promote STEM and Language Concurrently

Industry and Trade

A new study has placed Nairobi at the peak of the African continent as having most English proficient speakers.

According to the English Proficiency Index 2019 (EPI), residents of Nairobi were found to have the highest knowledge of spoken and written English at 61.94 per cent for any African city.

Out of the 100 countries that were ranked as well as regions, only Nairobi and Lagos (which scored 58.47 per cent) are in high aptitude level. 13 African countries took part in the survey.

Although Nairobi ranked the best as a city, Kenya itself came in second after South Africa globally at position 18 and six respectively.

In addition to ranking countries, the EPI also looked at the correlation between English proficiency and its impact on the economic competitiveness of a country including increased labour productivity as well as higher income. While there is no direct evidence that English proficiency…

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Making African Manufacturing industry landscape work

Industry and Trade

Africa is now more connected, technologically savvy, and focused on enhancing its economic systems compared to 30 years ago. The narrative has changed, from civil unrest and extreme donor-dependent economies, to those with record-high tax collections such as in Tanzania, and information communications and technology (ICT) transformation ones such as Rwanda, Kenya and South Africa. The African GDP has grown to over $2 trillion from about $587 billion in 2000.

Despite the youngest continent’s nations being driven by agriculture—which has also sustained major development, in terms of technology input, funding and research and development, still the continent’s manufacturing industry holds vital potential to stimulate the economy and offer decent livelihood to its vast young human capital, who number over 226 million and who are expected to increase by 42 per cent by 2030 according to the United Nations (UN).

According to Brookings—an American think tank, the future of the manufacturing…

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