The Applications of Information and Communication Technologies in Higher Education, in Less Developed Countries

Abstract

Surveys have been carried out by the International Association of Universities (IAU) and have shown that 70% of its member institutions have (an) expert(s) for Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in teaching and learning of which Africa, Latin America and Oceania have very low percentages. At the same time there is indeed not only a high demand for ICT in developing countries but in particular a demand for education that will help these countries to improve their socio-economic problems. This paper discusses and offers arguments for the growing possibilities of using ICTs as a training tool that can help Higher Education institutes in less developed countries to offer its students tremendous new possibilities in research and education, and open wider access to information as well as promoting active analytic thinking for purposes of solving socio-economic problems faced by these countries. A survey was carried out to find the level of connectivity and availability of experts for ICTs in teaching and learning in Universities in Zimbabwe. Questionnaires were administered to four of the six established state universities with more than ten departments each. The survey revealed that there is lack of experts of ICTs in teaching and learning and there are very few resources for this purpose. It is recommended that Higher education in less developed countries with the help of their governments be serious in developing and expanding the use of ICTs in teaching and learning.