The New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad), through the e-Africa Commission, is rolling out its e-school plan in Africa by the end of the quarter.

The business plan will be approved by African ministers in charge of information and communication technology (ICT) this week in South Africa in order to start implementation of the plan across the region.

The aim of the e-learning project is to harness ICT in a bid to improve the quality of teaching and learning in African schools.

The project is also aimed at creating a critical mass of African youths with ICT skills, in order to narrow the digital divide between Africa, America and Europe, said Henry Chasia, the executive deputy chairperson of the e-Africa Commission. The commission, based in Johannesburg, South Africa, operates under the aegis of Nepad and is responsible for the development of Nepad’s ICT programs and implementing projects.

The initial phase of the e-schools project was launched in 11 African countries including South Africa, Egypt, Mauritius, Rwanda, Senegal and Uganda in 2003 after African presidents approved the plan. After a successful trial in the 11 countries, Nepad now wants to expand the project to cover all of Africa.

The business plan calls for several models for the roll-out of the project, including implementation of common technology standards in all schools. For example, many schools in Africa do not have electricity from the national grid. To participate in the e-school project, they will be required to buy generators and solar panels to power computers.

"The project will go a long way in imparting ICT skills and change the African region for the better," Chasia said.

The project is a joint venture of a Cisco consortium, a Microsoft consortium and the Nepad e-Africa Commission. It will involve the establishment of an Africa-wide satellite network that will connect the schools to the Internet, as well as points within each country from which educational content will be fed to the schools on a continual basis.

By 2015, Nepad hopes, the project will cover around 600, 000 secondary schools on the entire African continent. Each school will be equipped with a computer laboratory containing at least 20 computers, a server and network infrastructure, as well as peripherals such as scanners, whiteboards and printers.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.

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