Teachers and trainers in Africa are reluctant to use Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in schools and prefer to stick to the traditional 'board and chalk method' of tuition.

This is one of the key findings in this year's eLearning Africa Report launched on 20 May at the eLearning Africa Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Ethiopia's deputy prime minister of Communication and Information Technology Dr Debretsion Gebremichael introduced the report.

According to the report 57% of the 1,500 teachers and ICT professionals surveyed by eLearning Africa said that educators in their own countries are "still not sufficiently aware of the benefits of using ICT in education", although 95% agreed that ICT is key to improving education in their own country.

"Reluctance," according to the report was a major theme emerging from teachers and educators.

Many revealed that their attitude towards ICT in education was not always shared throughout their respective institutions.

"Whilst the failure of teachers and educational institutions to take up the technological challenge is disappointing, there is little doubt that in many African countries, the contribution ICTs are making to improving training is having a significant impact on performance and growth in key sectors," said one of the report editors, Harold Elletson.

A number of obstacles preventing the greater use of ICT in education was also revealed in the report.

These include the cost of services and equipment, poor infrastructure and a lack of awareness about how best to use ICTs for teaching and learning.

74% of those surveyed also said they were not provided with enough support to improve their digital literacy, while only 33% of primary school teachers said they had been properly taught digital skills.

The story is different in the agricultural sector where 91% of those surveyed said ICT has led to increased yield, while 87% also said ICT has helped them to develop new business opportunities.