Providing access to information can facilitate the improvement of Africa’s people and overcoming their development backlog, says tertiary institution Monash South Africa school of information technology head Dr Jacques Steyn.

Access to knowledge enables self-empowerment by people and can replace much of the aid given to the continent, which has not yet proven effective in rapidly developing the continent.

“The human factor is a neglected part of development. Enabling people to teach themselves and one another, coupled with the eagerness of working with information technology, can reduce the continent’s dependence on exporting raw and semiprocessed commodities and enable its people to use the resources to develop the continent.”

Access to information and high-quality education are a boon for development, even in countries with limited natural resources, such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea. These countries tend to import raw and semiprocessed materials and export manufactured and high-technology goods, enabling them to gain significant value from the capabilities of their populations.

“It is important for the poor on the continent to develop their own capabilities to improve their circumstances and use their local knowledge in entrepreneurial ways. However, this can only happen if they have access to information and knowledge.”

Steyn and a significant community of academics worldwide have investigated the impact of technology on people in developing socioeconomic regions. South Africa’s Digital Doorway project and India’s Hole in the Wall project are initiatives where fixed kiosks containing robust computer hardware are placed in slum and underdeveloped areas to stimulate engagement with technology and the acquisition of knowledge.

“Owing to the muted economic activity in these areas, children have time, but not the opportunity, to engage with technology and acquire self-taught skills. The goal of the projects was to provide them with access to information and educational games to improve their knowledge.”

Research conducted on these projects indicates that the children not only use the terminals but also compete to use the terminals and watch one another using the machines, which, in turn, leads to skills being shared.

“Some children have learned how to switch the machines off and then tell others that they are nonfunctioning, just so that they can use the machines themselves. This finding from primary research is significant and should prompt a rethink of how education can be improved in underdeveloped areas,” says Steyn.

There is insufficient focus on the human factor of projects. All projects must be adapted to local conditions and cultures and should be preceded by pilot projects to determine the correct format to make them effective in particular communities.

“A lack of political will to improve education, use available resources effectively and hold teachers accountable for the quality of education are significant barriers.

“Further, funding is always a problem and corporate companies that want to get involved should approach the institutions conducting research on modern education methods to ensure that any corporate social investments do not fail owing to a lack of suitability within a community.

“Engineers are slowly understanding that the success or failure of projects depends not only on good engineering but also on their suitability and the human context in which they are implemented,” concludes Steyn.