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Mthabisi Tshuma in Victoria Falls

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GOVERNMENT will continue to forge relations with school in order to ensure the institutions are digitised, Ministry of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services Deputy Minister Dingumuzi Phuti has said.

Addressing delegates at the commemorations of the International Girls in Information Communication Technology (ICT) Day here in Victoria Falls on 27 April, Deputy Minister Phuti said Government remains committed to ensuring the younger generation taps fully into the digital world.

He said the partnership between the Ministry of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education will help youngster achieve digital literacy.

The event was held under the theme “Digital Skills for Life”. Every year, ITU and its partners work together to inspire and encourage girls to pursue a future in ICTs towards bridging the gender digital divide. The aim is to encourage young women and girls to pursue their studies and careers in science, engineering, technology, mathematics, and other fields and help them achieve their dreams.

“The Minister of Primary and Secondary Education (Dr Evelyn Ndlovu) took us through a lot of the programmes that are happening in Government as a collaborative effort between them and the Ministry of ICT, Postal and Courier Services and that specifies really that there is a thin line and a strong merge between these two Ministries.

“One is meant to provide solutions, possible gadgets and policies and the other should implement so that girls even at a tender age are able to appreciate STEM subjects so that we bridge that gap. This we will continue to do, so that we ensure that schools are digitised,” said Deputy Minister Phuti.

“One young girl this morning spoke about shortage of gadgets in schools. Very true but my Ministry has done a lot in terms of equipping schools with laboratories of standard and l am happy to say on this programme we are going again to be celebrating a version of this celebration at a rural school where we are going to see what a rural school computer laboratory looks like.

“Potraz and the ICT Ministry have been distributing gadgets across the country but especially to underserved areas and ensuring connectivity for the same purpose that we are gathered here for,” he said.

Deputy Minister Phuti said there is need to ensure that women are incorporated into the ICT sector.

“Indeed you cannot push a transformation agenda yet you leave behind 50 percent of its population. In Zimbabwe 17 percent of tech jobs are occupied by women and that says a lot about the amount of work that still needs to be done.

“If you don’t improve women l want to say it is the fastest way of destroying or hurting society. We have a supreme law of this country that specifies clearly that there be a deliberate approach to support women initiatives and the ICT Ministry is doing a lot of implementing that. We celebrate girls in ICT every year and l am happy that this year it is bigger and better and thanks to ITU and Smart Africa,” said Deputy Minister Phuti.

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