About School Telecenters

Schools with computer resources typically establish telecenters for three reasons:

These three goals are interconnected.

Sustainability can follow from community involvement.

Communities are increasingly powerful stakeholders in schools.

Development benefits from the exchange of knowledge, and builds potential support for schools and telecenters.

Why combine telecenters and schools?
Schools in many developing countries are connecting to the Internet. The computers come may be purchased by parents' groups, provided through initiatives of the Ministry of Education, or donated by international organizations.

But school computer labs are expensive. Computers break down; Internet costs are often high; school personnel need to be trained.

At the same time, a school's computer lab has so much value for the community adults can use it to communicate via e-mail and voice, and to access information that can improve their livelihoods. And they can connect them to services, such as medical care, that enhance the well-being of their families.

Natural partners
Many schools with computer labs are already opening their doors to the public. Perhaps people have offered to pay. These fees can help cover the costs of Internet access or computer maintenance.

Schools and telecenters appear to go together naturally.

But there are also structural reasons why this relationship should be nurtured. A well-researched study by the Food and Agricultural Organization, the International Telecommunications Union, and Inter-American Development Bank details the importance of schools and education systems as key environments for telecenter development.

School Telecenters
And that is precisely what School Telecenters is designed to do — by increasing the potential for communication among school-based telecenters.