Increase in ICT use boosting service delivery – report

The increased usage of information and telecommunication technologies in terms of mobile subscriptions and Internet has boosted service delivery in public institutions involved in social development, a new report shows. The 2013 Rwanda ICT sector profile report, dubbed “Toward a Cashless Economy,” released after a joint study by the Ministry -of Youth and ICT, Rwanda Utilities and Regulatory Authority (Rura), Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and the Rwanda National Institute of Statistics, last week, measures the sector’s performance and tracks ICT for development in the country’s socio-economic transformation. Among the institutions that benefited thanks to the uptake of ICT are the Ministries of Education, Health, and Local Government. The report indicates that courtesy of ICT, there was a 38 per cent increase of open distance and e-learning students in 2013. The number of citizens reached through ICT awareness campaigns held country wide at the end of the year stood at 165,800. The Minister for Youth and ICT, Jean-Philbert Nsengimana, who presented the report, said some challenges such as low Internet penetration, low levels of digital literacy and lack of local content undermined the social impact of the sector in the country’s transformation. The report also noted that there was a 58 per cent increase in the number of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) courses that are related to ICT during the survey year. Currently, there are 273 secondary schools offering TVET. How sectors are benefiting Education minister Vincent Biruta said there was notable improvement in the quality of education and they would change the approach to further increase the impact caused by ICT usage. “We are reviewing the ICT in education policy to change the approach. We will go from buying devices to acquiring ICT in education solutions and bring the private sector on board to further contribute to the impact,” Dr Biruta said. Dr Evode Mukama, the head ICT in Education and Open Distance e-Learning in Rwanda Education Board, said they also have a strategy to further increase ICT literacy in the country targeting mainly teachers across the country. Under the plan, the teachers are to undergo a three-month training, after which they will be equipped to train students and other teachers. He said the programme has a target of 98 per cent of teachers in the country. In the health sector, it was noted that 93.8 per cent of health centres in the country are connected to Internet, while 21 per cent had telemedicine infrastructure. Two hundred twenty-one registered private clinics and dispensaries were reported to be routinely using Health Management Information System, which enables easy and timely storage and access to patients’ health records. The system assisted 1473 data managers through e-support messaging. The agriculture sector also grew significantly due to ICT usage, with a total of 11,815 farmers to and businesspersons using e-Soko, an online platform that provides access to market information for farm produce. Fertiliser voucher management, which enables farmers track and improve usage of farming inputs, had more than 1.6 million farmers. Tony Nsanganira, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, said there had been improved practices thanks to ICT, and farmers could now access information on markets and better skills.