UNESCO trains Arusha teachers in digital technology

DAR ES SALAAM: THE United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), in collaboration with the Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE) and the President’s Office (Regional Administration and Local Government -PORALG), is training government secondary school teachers from Arusha City and Arusha District councils on effective use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to improve teaching and learning.

The four-day training that started yesterday in Arusha is part of the ongoing implementation of the ICT Transforming Education in Africa – Phase III Project, supported through the Korean Funds-in-Trust (KFIT).

The programme seeks to equip teachers with practical digital skills that can be applied in teaching, learning, assessment and the development of digital learning content, in line with the ICT Competency Standards for Teachers in Tanzania (ICT-CSTT).

The training is a continuation of the project’s implementation in Tanzania following a similar programme conducted in Morogoro. It forms part of efforts to strengthen teachers’ digital competencies and enable them to respond effectively to the changing demands of 21stcentury education.

Officially opening the training, Head of the Education Sector at the UNESCO Dar es Salaam Office, Dr Faith Shayo, said strengthening teachers’ digital competencies was essential to ensuring that the education system kept pace with technological developments.

Dr Shayo urged the participating teachers to make full use of the training and share the knowledge and skills acquired with their colleagues after returning to their respective schools.

“We expect you to share what you learn here with your fellow teachers so that they can also keep pace with these transformations in education,” she said.

She said teachers were at the centre of education transformation because they were directly responsible for translating changes in teaching and learning into classroom practice. Dr Shayo added that technology should be used as a tool to improve the quality of teaching and learning, expand access to knowledge and equip learners with skills relevant to the 21st century.

She said the approach of training a selected group of teachers who would subsequently support their colleagues was important in expanding the number of digitally competent educators and ensuring that the benefits of the programme reached more schools.

For his part, Assistant Director of Education at the President’s Office (Regional Administration and Local Government-PO-RALG), Melchiory Baltazary, said the government continues to collaborate with UNESCO and development partners to strengthen the education sector, particularly through the effective use of technology.

He said the collaboration was supporting government efforts to build teachers’ capacity to respond to technological changes and use ICT to improve teaching and learning.

Mr Baltazary urged participants to share the knowledge and skills acquired with teachers who had not attended the training, saying this would help increase the number of educators capable of effectively using technology in schools.

Arusha Regional Academic Officer, Oscar Kapinga, said effective use of technology could simplify teaching and learning while expanding students’ access to knowledge and educational resources. He urged teachers to ensure that technology was applied in ways that directly contributed to improved learning outcomes.

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The training covers various areas of digital competency, including access to knowledge, the use of digital learning tools and platforms, ICT integration in teaching and assessment, Open Educational Resources (OER), online information search skills and the use of technology to support curriculum implementation.

Participants are also being trained in interactive teaching approaches, management of school records and information, development of digital learning resources, production of audio-visual educational content and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education.

The teachers are using the TIE Teachers Continuous Professional Development Learning Management System (TCPD LMS), which is linked to the Government’s MEWAKA system, to access training materials and undertake the various learning modules.

Explaining the implementation of the project, Gabriela Lucas from UNESCO’s Education Sector, said the KFIT-supported programme aimed to strengthen teachers’ ability to use technology effectively in teaching and learning while making use of existing Government systems to ensure continued access to professional development opportunities.

She said teachers were central to the project because they played a direct role in integrating technology into everyday classroom practices.

“UNESCO aspires to see every teacher able to use ICT for learning and teaching,” she said.

Ms Lucas said the ICT-CSTT framework comprised different competency levels designed to enable teachers to progressively develop their digital skills according to their existing levels of competence.

She said the framework comprised 15 modules, with the Arusha training focusing on the Beginner and Intermediate levels, covering 10 modules, while also introducing participants to five modules under the Advanced level. She explained that the project adopted a cascade training model, whereby teachers who receive the training are expected to share their knowledge and skills with other teachers in their respective schools.

“We have already conducted the training in Morogoro, and now we are in Arusha,” she said.

Ms Lucas said the project was being implemented in Tanzania, Namibia and Uganda, with UNESCO seeking to strengthen teachers’ capacity to use ICT effectively in modern education environments.

She said digital learning systems also provided teachers with opportunities for continuous professional development by enabling them to access learning materials and acquire new skills beyond face-to-face training sessions.

The training is also being supported by the Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE). One of the facilitators, Watson Mtewele, said the modules used during the training were accessible through the teachers’ continuous professional development system known as MEWAKA. He said the system enabled teachers to continue learning and strengthening their professional skills even after completing faceto-face training.

The initiative is therefore designed to create a wider network of digitally competent teachers through the sharing and transfer of knowledge and skills among educators, ultimately benefitting learners.

The programme also complements the efforts of the Sixth Phase Government under the leadership of President Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan to strengthen the use of ICT in the education sector and develop a skilled and knowledgeable workforce capable of responding to the demands of the 21st century.

The initiative is also aligned with the aspirations of Tanzania Development Vision 2050, which places emphasis on developing a knowledgeable, skilled and technologically capable population to drive national development. Building teachers’ capacity in ICT, therefore, goes beyond enabling educators to use digital devices and platforms.

It is part of preparing teachers to equip learners with the knowledge, skills and competencies required to participate effectively in an increasingly technology-driven society and economy. The four-day training continues at Gold Crest Hotel in Arusha and is scheduled to conclude on September 4, 2026.