The work of the Student Support Technician Clubs is important for every school

To assist schools in maintaining the computers and the computer equipment (and thus to increase the students’ access to computers) the USAID Primary Education Project (PEP) introduced the concept of Student Support Technician Clubs (SSTC's). The members of the SSTCs are students from sixth to eighth grade who are supervised by two trained teachers. At the end of each school year, new students are being selected as members of SSTCs. This causes a sustainability of the system as there are always new members that enter the clubs.

In order to provide feedback for their activities, the USAID Primary Education Project, in early October, conducted a research regarding the work of the SSTCs.  The survey was conducted in the form of an electronic questionnaire that was placed on PEP’s website. All directors and mentors of the student teams were previously informed how and where they can access and fill in this questionnaire.

272 schools from all over Macedonia responded to the 12 questions asked in the questionnaire. Their answers showed that 239 schools had established a Student Support Technician Club. The majority or 53% of the total number of SSTCs were formed in 2008, which is the year when the trainings for the student teams were organized for the first time.

The analysis showed that, in 60% of the schools, the teachers asked the SSTC members for assistance regarding the use of Internet. In 59% of the schools, the teachers requested technical assistance for access to the Internet as well as computer maintenance. 58% of the schools said that the teachers needed assistance for printing various materials, 39% had teachers that needed help for the preparation of ICT integrated classes, while 33% had teachers that needed the help of the SSTC for implementation of the ICT integrated classes. Help for maintenance of the computer network was asked in 33% of the schools, while 32% had teachers that needed assistance for scanning materials.
 
The Student Support Technician Clubs have a very significant role in the maintenance of the schools computers. Their work primarily involves cleaning computers from viruses, installing software and operational systems, as well as disk defragmentation. There is a smaller need for providing network stability as well as providing optimal flow of on-line information.

The activities of the Student Support Technician Clubs have significantly increased the access to technology in a large number of schools. 92% of the schools that submitted the survey said that the help of the SSTCs has enabled an easier access to technology for the teachers and the students.

The PEP team would like to thank all the schools that completed the questionnaire and contributed in obtaining information about the importance of the Student Support Technician Clubs. This information has great importance for the planning of USAID/PEP’s future activities that will be undertaken during this school year. 

Previous News: 2009; 2008; 2007;