(This article was first published in the New Vision on January 27, 2023)
By Kellen Okwente
Irene Nakiyimba, a Doctor of Information Systems and the deputy principal of the Uganda Institute of ICT (UICT) has said digital illiteracy has become one of the biggest hindrances to digital transformation in Uganda.
“We cannot talk about digital transformation in Uganda without having to solve the issue of digital illiteracy. We have totally neglected the segments of our biggest population which is mostly those that cannot read or write,” she said.
Nakiyimba was addressing participants at the Education Expo on Friday; she said there is need to customise digital training for the illiterate so as to create inclusion as the country strives to improve its digitalisation processes.
The Expo links training and industry needs so that institutions can provide the quality of labour needed in the market.
Facilitating at the first workshop themed ‘Leveraging ICT for employment’, Nakiyimba said if Uganda is to achieve a digital economy, it must train its human resource capital.
“We cannot talk about leveraging ICT for employment without the alignment of our business models to IT strategies. This will help us achieve the overall vision, mission and goals of economic development and transformation for the country,” she said.
The three-day expo will run from January 27 to 29. The event has been designed to bring all actors in the education sector in one place to share knowledge and expertise so as to contribute to the recovery of the sector from the COVID-19 pandemic and related shocks and to leverage on ongoing educational reforms.
