The provision of education using ICT has been adopted by many institutions in Africa. The use of ICT is critical in knowledge-based societies such as those in Zanzibar and Zimbabwe. This study looks at how the Midlands State University (MSU) and State University of Zanzibar (SUZA) have adopted the use of ICT in many ways. ICTs do not work for everyone in the same way. It has become inevitable, in the current digital era for educators to integrate ICT in their teaching and gradually replace traditional teaching methods with modern ones which are ICT led. The main objective of this study is to find out challenges and opportunities of using ICT in education.

The notion of integrating ICT in education has proven to provide various solutions to educational issues. Preparing pre-service teachers for ICT integration has been crucial in many teacher training colleges and universities. The present paper with preliminary data findings explores the status, challenges and opportunities that exist in the integration of ICT tools in pre-service teacher education at the State University of Zanzibar. This was a mixed study that employed both qualitative and quantitative methods. However, the major approach used was quantitative. Initial findings indicate that despite SUZA having its own updated Learning Management System (LMS) and ICT tools and infrastructures, there are still many challenges related to infrastructures, readiness, ICT skills and comfortability in integrating ICT tools in teaching and learning. In addition, the paper explores the many opportunities that are available at the State University of Zanzibar in the integration of ICT in education particularly in pre-service teacher education.

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The case discussed in this paper shares lessons learned from the project on how to build sustainable institutional capacity in e-learning environment at the State University of Zanzibar. The project was carried out in partnership with the University of Copenhagen as part of the larger Building Stronger University, BSU program funded by the Danish International Development Agency, Danida.