Challenges Facing Effective Information And Communications Technology (Ict) Implementation In Selected Public Secondary Schools In Nakuru North District Nakuru County

ABSTRACT

ICT in education has the potential to enhance the quality of teaching and learning. However opportunities for realizing the benefits of using ICT in education face a number of challenges in developing countries. This study thus set out to investigate challenges facing effective ICT implementation in selected Public Secondary Schools in Nakuru North District Nakuru County. The main objective of the study was to explore factors that challenge effective ICT implementation which can play a significant role in equalizing opportunities for marginalized groups and communities. Head teachers, Deputy Head teachers and teachers in Public Secondary Schools in Nakuru North District formed the target population. Systematic sampling technique was used to select ten schools from a list organized in order of performance of Mock exams (2012) by public secondary schools in Nakuru North District. Eight (8) teachers were randomly selected from each school for the study giving a total of 80 teachers. Head teachers and deputy head teachers were purposively selected from the ten selected schools to have a total of ten head teachers and ten deputy head teachers. The total sample size for the study was 100 respondents. The research design used was a descriptive survey design. Research instruments employed were questionnaires with open-ended and structured questions. Data collected was both quantitative and qualitative. Percentages and frequency distributions were used to analyze the collected data with the aid of Microsoft excel and statisticalpackage for social sciences (SPSS Version 16.0). The data was presented using tables, bar charts and pie-charts.Based on the findings of the research it was concluded that there were a number of challenges facing effective implementation of ICT in schools in Nakuru North District. These challenges included: few computers and computer labs, insufficient internet connectivity, power unreliability and lack of sufficient equipment such as LCD projectors, speakers among others to enhance effective implementation. The study also concluded that efforts by the ministry to sustain ICT implementation projects in schools are very minimal especially in the rural districts. In addition the study also concluded that even though there are few ICT specialists the specialists are there as there a number of people who are computer literate. From the findings the following recommendations were made:The government should put measures to assess how ICT programs are being integrated and implemented in rural district secondary schools and reliable power supply, sufficient equipment and free internet preferably WI-FI (a facility allowing computers, smartphones, or other devices to connect to the internet or communicate with one another wirelessly within a particular area) should also be set in the rural areas by the government to enhance effective implementation of ICT in the schools within that area.