Tanzania: Artificial Intelligence Can Boost Learning in Schools

Participants in the Policy Forum break-fast debate on digital platforms for social impact and the role of technology in addressing education challenges held in Dar es Salaam yesterday.PHOTO |SALIM SHAO 

By Louis Kolumbia

Dar es Salaam — Artificial intelligence, simulation of human intelligence in machines that are

programmed to think and act like humans, is capable of closing teachers' shortage gaps and addressing inadequate supply of learning materials in the education sector.

This was said yesterday during a breakfast debate organized by Policy Forum, a network of over 70 Tanzanian civil society organisations, under the theme: Digital platforms for social impact: The role of technology in addressing social impacts. During the meeting, Shule Direct, a civil society organisation dealing with education, introduced its artificial intelligence dubbed: Ticha Kidevu.

Teacher Kidevu is a website application designed allow student to interact with a virtual teacher who would respond to their questions and be provided with links in order to access reference materials through google searches.

The interaction provides room for more students to learn amid shortage of teachers as well as get reference books which are scarce especially in public schools due to minor budgetary allocations.

The Shule Direct senior developer Erick Kondela said the innovation aimed at addressing shortage of teachers and learning materials in the country.

"Ticha Kidevu was tested in 2017. Students can use the new technology by logging in on our website and instantly start communications," he said.

He said they were planning to update the website application to enable Ticha Kidevu to give voice response and provide more data.

Shule Direct executive director, Ms Faraja Nyalandu said last year Tanzania had 43.6 million people owning mobile phones and that over 23 million were using internet for communication.

She said 82.6 percent of them get use of internet via mobile phones and that over 8.113 billion messages were texted monthly.

She said while the country's gross enrolment for primary school pupils stood at 93.2 percent in 2019, gross enrolment at lower secondary schools was 43.7 and 77.09 percent pass rate during secondary school examinations.

"However, survival rate for primary schools pupils to secondary schools stood at 48 percent which is very low. Where do the rest go and how are they assisted?" she questioned.

According to her, artificial intelligence provides students with a medium of instruction, respond to various questions and give reference materials.

She said even teen mothers dropped from schools could use the technology to learn while at home taking care of the newborns and get registered for exams when time comes.

"Ticha Kidevu only offers what students want unlike physical teachers who could demand other privileges from their students," she said.

Reacting on the presentation, an education stakeholder Mr Boniface Kyaruzi challenged that pupils from non-English medium schools could hardly communicate with Ticha Kidevu because Kiswahili remained as a language of instruction.

"How has the new technology has taken care of people with disabilities?" he questioned.

Ms Sharifa Ismail of the Institute of Social Works suggested that parents should be educated first on better use of internet and artificial intelligence before taking the subject to children.

"Technology should be precise which students are targeted. Is it internet users from English medium schools and international schools or those from Kayumba type of schools," she urged.

Education stakeholder, Ms Tumaini Mwangoge said students from rural Tanzania may not benefit with such technology compared to their urban counterparts due to connectivity barriers.

"Developers have innovated, but yet created another problem of urban and rural student's disparities. How students from two places can be measured during examinations?" she questioned.

Mr Boniface Ihunyo from the Danish Embassy in Tanzania said day students were privileged to use the technology as they can use smartphones from parents and other members of the family as compared to those in boarding schools, suggesting that use of technology should be integrated in the country's education policy.