The short answer to this question is that skilling teachers in ICT is the joint responsibility of the education department, the school and the individual teacher.
Where the national or provincial education department offers ICT training, school principals must make sure that the teachers have the opportunity to make use of it. This type of training is free, usually focused on education and teachers may get time off for it.
If the education department does not offer such training, schools should not just sit around waiting for it to happen; find an alternative. Principals may approach training companies to offer training, or if the school can’t afford it, community members can be approached to offer training on a pro bono basis. Another useful way to provide training to teachers is to approach vendors of technology products to ensure that sufficient product training is given when technology is procured.
What happens if neither the education department, nor the school, makes ICT training available to teachers? The responsibility now falls on the teacher to build those skills.
Don’t waste time fighting over whose responsibility it is to train teachers to become confident users of technology in the classroom – the longer you wait, the further you you’ll be left behind.
