From May 4 to 6 in Libreville, a workshop was held to develop legislative and regulatory texts organized by the Ministry of Education in partnership with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Airtel Gabon group.

The aim of this workshop was to create a legal framework setting the conditions and modalities of distance learning for the benefit of learners in primary, general and technical secondary schools, including vocational training and universities.

In other words, it was a matter of organizing the training offer according to the available resources (structures, teachers) while taking into account the needs of the learners, then determining the means necessary for the implementation of this process; finally, establishing the rights and obligations of the different actors of the Gabonese educational system.

Context

A few years ago, covid-19 led the country into total confusion and disrupted the traditional mode of teaching, i.e. face-to-face. In order to deal with this, different approaches were naturally considered, linked to the digitization of education. 

The latter involves not only capacity building for teachers, but also the provision of digital tools (computers, smartphones, internet connection) adapted by students.

This workshop, which brought together executives from the public administration, the United Nations and the public sector, helped lay the foundations of the digitalization project. Subsequently, an experimental phase is planned, involving nine schools in the Moyen-Ogooué, Ogooué-Lolo and Estuaire regions. 

At the end of this pilot phase, the digitization project will be extended to the entire national territory.

Source : Gabon review

Vanessa Ntoh