Uganda: Humanity First Empowers 80 with ICT Skills

By Development Diaries
January 7, 2022

Humanity First has announced the commencement of another round of free computer training for 80 youths in Uganda.

It is understood that the international relief and development agency runs a computer training centre in Budaka, where courses are offered in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Access.

‘Opening of [Uganda] [school] calendar comes at no better time than the present for youth in Budaka, as 80 participants are engaged in a [two] week free computer literacy programme at our Budaka campus’, Humanity First Uganda said in a tweet.

A survey by the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) shows that most computers in schools are used for administrative work, rather than teaching students computer studies.

Reports also show that formal teaching of information communication technology (ICT) has been slow, with the sector beset by various shortages.

Similarly, data from Research ICT Africa (RIA) shows that 86 percent of Uganda’s population have no internet-enabled devices, such as computers and smartphones, while 36 percent of non-internet users are digitally illiterate.

According to The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), the digital literacy score in Uganda is at 20 percent alongside the absence of a holistic inclusion of digital skills in the education curricular.