Technology is important in education
Executive Director Learning Resources at Pearson Education Africa, Brian Wafararowa met with government officials and educators earlier this week in Windhoek, as part of their African Education Dialogues series, that will be held in over 30 countries.
“We aim to educate 1 million people with quality education,” he said, when he addressed the topic ‘Providing solutions to the challenges of education and quality of learning in Africa, from early childhood to higher education’.
Wafararowa emphasised on the importance of using technology in the classroom to ensure that skills imparted to the learners are equipping them for the needs of the 21st Century. “Technology does not have or need to be complicating or complicated, it can be as simple as communication via WhatsApp, between teachers, students and parents,” he added.
He said that Africa’s future and success is its population and even thought most people focus on the negatives, it does not mean that progress has not and is not being made in improving education. “Education clearly is the ticket out of poverty, as I am sure the 91% of Namibian graduates who are employed would agree,” he said. “At Pearson we know that learning must be lifelong, and the skills obtained must be relevant and up to date and the qualifications that our hard earned money is spend on must be internationally recognized and valid,” added Wafararowa.
The breakfast was concluded with a panel discussion which included, Ilana Carlitz from the Institute of Open Learning (IOL), Fritz David from the National Institute for Educational Development (NIED) and Peter Reiner an education specialist.
The panelists were all in agreement that education is the key, and quality education should start at an early age and learners should be able to use what they have learned in their lives.
After the breakfast dignitaries took a trip to Blowkrans Primary School in Dordabis and handed over a cheque of N$30,000 to Lucas Bock the school principal, which will be used for upgrades at the school.
