The Challenges of Information and Communications Technology Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper examines the Information Technology programs at three African universities in three different countries (Rwanda, South Africa, and Kenya) along with an examination of the IT scene in each of the countries. The challenges faced in each of these countries are similar, but each one has its own unique issues. Much of Africa seems to be hedging a bet that ICT (information and communications technology - or technologies) will be the thing that leads their countries and economies into the 21st century. Many of the major computing tech companies are in Africa staking their claim. Each country's success in becoming the next Information and Communications technology hub will come down to how well they can train and retain the next generation of ICT specialists. Although, many consider Information Technology to be a component of ICT while others consider them to mean the same thing in terms of a broad definition. In this paper, the term ICT will be used as encompassing all areas of computing including computer science and information systems. IT will be used when referring to IT as defined in the ACM and IEEE Curriculum Guidelines.