Impact of Icts on Higher Educational and ODL Institutions: an Ethiopian Study

Abstract

There has been an unprecedented growth in Open Distance Learning in the past decade throughout the world. Distance Education has gained popularity spreading education not only to those who are deprived of opportunities for higher education but also to those sections who aspire to pursue higher education at their flexible pace and place. Higher education institutions across the world have been adopting ICT teaching and learning technologies in an effort to create an environment for both students and their instructors to engage in collaborative learning and gain access to information. Access to information through ICT increases the information accessible to individuals to support them in trying new strategies, thinking and creativity that are reflective in practice aimed at engaging them to new innovations through the use of ICTs. Present study is discussing about the impact on ICTs at Higher educational and Open and Distance Learning Institutions in Ethiopia. Actually, the Ethiopian government has an ambitious e-government strategy which covers various sectors such as education, health, agriculture, and public administration. As a core part of the nation-wide e-government strategy, the distance education project, called ‘School Net’, was launched in 2003 with support from UNDP. In this paper an attempt has been made to study different Universities both educational and ODL institutions and their ICT Centers, their working pattern and functions in fulfilling their objectives of providing education in this technological age. In conclusion, we can say that how these developing countries like Ethiopia to overcome the problems relating to the perfect implementation of ICTs to provide better educational opportunities to their users.