Toward a Better Understanding of the Access to Education through Online Learning in the Case of Zimbabwe.

The worldwide proliferation of electronic information and communication technologies (ICT) is linked to the unprecedented opportunities for synchronous and asynchronous teaching and learning. In Zimbabwe, universities and colleges have turned to the use of ICT, typically known as eLearning, to complement teacher led instruction on campus. For that reason, colleges and universities in this country have become traditional users of ICT in teaching and learning. In the context of Zimbabwe, by January 2014about 40 % (5.2 million) of the country’s population became Internet users. This compares with 15.7 % (1.95 million) in 2011, and 0.4 % (. 052 million) in the year 2000.In spite of the rapid increase in the population of Internet usersin Zimbabwe, research shows that online learning adoption has not reached its full potential. To shed light on the question on how farZimbabwe as a country has come towards a position of optimizing the use of ICT in the provision of education in the nontraditional areas, this studyutilized technology and socialchange as a theoretical approach within which qualitative data were collected through interviews, a focus group, andcontent analyses of existing documents to explain, clarify and summarize the positive forces and limitations to the use of online education. The study aimed at gaining a better understanding of the role ICT plays in improving access to quality education in the primary and secondary schools, and for professional development, and human capacity building in a developing country such as Zimbabwe. Data from the study showed that even in a declining economic climate in Zimbabwe, professional development continues to take place through the use of ICT. Effort from the private sector and government is being made to harness the power of technology in teaching and learning in primary and secondary schools too. The government of Zimbabwe, believing in the promise of education, that education contributes towards social and national economic development, has adopted an aggressive policy in support of the use of online learning.However, sufficient capital outlays are not being invested in creating an enabling environment and infrastructure needed for a real national take off in the use of ICT in teaching and learning in Zimbabwe.