Paperless teacher and system support: use of ICT to pay teachers, track books, provide coaching and engage parents in Northern Nigeria

• In Event: Conflict sensitivity in ICT for education in crisis and conflict programming

Proposal

Although “[t]he use of ICT for education in conflict and crisis has not yet been brought to its full potential with regard to system strengthening initiatives” (Dayha, 2016, p. 33), there are increasing opportunities to utilize ICT to improve educational opportunities in very challenging contexts. Northern Nigeria is one such fragile environment; literacy levels are low and more than 10 million children are out of school. In an effort to address such issues, USAID Nigeria’s Northern Education Initiative Plus project (NEI Plus) is working with the states of Bauchi and Sokoto to provide access to quality education and improve the reading skills of more than 2 million children and youth. Working with federal, state and local education officers, NEI Plus is using ICT in a variety of manners.

Salary payment systems that function efficiently are vital but too frequently “overly centralized payment procedures,” which require extensive travel to collect salaries “provoke discontent, low morale and are frequent cause for teacher absenteeism” (ILO, 2012, p. 174). In order to overcome the “scarcity of banks”(Dayha, 2016, p. 13), NEI Plus is implementing payments of stipends through mobile money.

A further challenge is a dearth of materials, leading directly to low-literacy environments (Wagner et al., 2014). When materials are available they often sit in store rooms for lack of effective systems of distribution and tracking. In order to try to address this, the program works with local authorities to utilize various distribution and tracking systems in Bauchi and Sokoto states.

During the first distribution, a predominantly paper-based tracking system is being utilized, which mirrors the existing system used by the states. During forthcoming distributions, NEI Plus will work with the government to implement a comprehensive tracking and reporting system utilizing reverse-charge SMS text messages sent by staff at the central state warehouses, at the Local Government Education Authorities, and at the school level. The low-cost system allows authorities to check progress of shipments and to address any issues in a timely manner. In addition, the inclusion of PTA and community members into the system provides additional checks which can prevent leakage.

In addition to access to resources and increased motivation, many teachers in both the formal and informal sectors require additional support in both content knowledge and pedagogy. Difficulties in regular in-person oversight by both government and project staff lead to opportunities for ICT solutions. The use of recorded messages and SMS messages with teaching tips and quizzes provide the opportunity for regular interaction with teachers in remote and difficult to reach locations.

The support of parents and community leaders is also vital, particularly in contexts which have large gender disparities. Community-based organizations are using audio visual ICT and IVR messaging to promote the benefits of learning at community meetings and directly to parents.

The presentation will discuss the benefits, challenges and implications for conflict sensitivity when using low-cost ICT solutions to strengthen systems in such a challenging environment, from the perspective of the end users, government employees and USAID project staff.
References
Dayha, N. (2016). Education in conflict and crisis: How can technology make a difference? A landscape review. Bonn and Eschborn, Germany: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
International Labour Office. (2012) Handbook of good human resource practices in the teaching profession. Geneva, Switzerland: Author.
Wagner, D.A., Castillo, N.M., Murphy, K.M., Crofton, M., & Zahra, F.T. (2014). Mobiles for literacy in developing countries: An effectiveness framework. Prospects, 44(1), 119-132.

Authors

• Anthony Udeh, Education Development Center (EDC)

• Daniel Fwanshishak, Creative Associates International