ASSESSMENT OF ICT IMPLEMENTATION PRACTICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS: THE CASE OF ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY

Abstract

Information and communication technologies (ICT) have become commonplace entity in all aspects of life. The purpose of this study is to assess the existing practices, challenges and prospects of ICT in Addis Ababa University. The main research questions raised is assessment of extent of ICT implementation in the institution, based on the perceptions of students’, instructors’ and institutional leadership. The research utilized a quantitative research method and a descriptive survey research design was used to analyze. From available sampling methods, Proportionate sampling method was employed to determine size of each subgroup from the selected sample population. The study used both primary and secondary data sources to gather input for the study. The researcher collected data from instructors, students, institutional leaders from AAU. The major data collection instruments include Questionnaires and document analysis. The major findings of the study are lack of infrastructure and teaching learning aid shortage in the institution. This study showed additional ICT training has to be arranged to equip instructors and students with required level of operational skill. And on the other hand, there was good perception on use of ICT in educational process. Lastly, the study revealed that the implementation of ICT in Addis Ababa University is being tested with various challenges. These challenges include absence of operational design or model as well as arrangement of ICT infrastructure, lack of training for instructors and limited ICT knowledge and skills with both students and the instructors; limited technical support during teaching and learning process, and lack of proper ICT policies in AAU. There is a gap in institutional leaders owning facilitation and improvement of continuous support, monitoring and evaluation of ICT Policies. Hence, the research concluded that the inadequate practice, poor perception and the above-mentioned challenges hindered a well-versed implementation of ICT in the institution.