Egypt, France airdrop aid to Gaza amid growing humanitarian crisis, global criticism of Israel    Supply minister discusses strengthening cooperation with ITFC    Egypt launches initiative with traders, manufacturers to reduce prices of essential goods    SCZONE chief discusses strengthening maritime, logistics cooperation with Panama    Egypt strengthens healthcare partnerships to enhance maternity, multiple sclerosis, and stroke care    Egypt keeps Gaza aid flowing, total tops 533,000 tons: minister    Egypt reviews health insurance funding mechanism to ensure long-term sustainability    Gaza on verge of famine as war escalates, ceasefire talks stall    Gaza crisis, trade on agenda as Trump hosts Starmer in Scotland    Egyptian president follows up on initiatives to counter extremist thought    Indian Embassy to launch cultural festival in Assiut, film fest in Cairo    Egyptian aid convoy heads toward Gaza as humanitarian crisis deepens    Culture minister launches national plan to revive film industry, modernise cinematic assets    Egypt will keep pushing for Gaza peace, aid: PM    I won't trade my identity to please market: Douzi    Sisi calls for boosting oil & gas investment to ease import burden    EGX to close Thursday for July 23 Revolution holiday    Egypt welcomes 25-nation statement urging end to Gaza war    Sisi sends letter to Nigerian president affirming strategic ties    Egypt, Senegal sign pharma MoU to unify regulatory standards    Two militants killed in foiled plot to revive 'Hasm' operations: Interior ministry    Egypt, Somalia discuss closer environmental cooperation    58 days that exposed IMF's contradictions on Egypt    Egypt's EHA, Huawei discuss enhanced digital health    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Techno Tools: a look at the Egyptian Education Initiative
Published in Daily News Egypt on 19 - 05 - 2008

Education has been singled out as crucial to making Arab countries competitive in the global economy, and one of the ways government plans to change the face of teaching in Egypt is by integrating information technology in the learning process.
"Education is the foundation on which everything else grows, said Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif recently. "There is no doubt that in order to catch up with the rest of the world, we need to build the skills of our youth.
Developing education currently tops the Cabinet's agenda, as human capital and capacity building "make us important players in today's global world.
In the May 2006 World Economic Forum (WEF) on the Middle East in Sharm El-Sheikh, the Nazif government announced that it was adopting the WEF's Global Education Initiative, a move the government says will help make Egypt a techno-savvy nation.
"Education is one of those very high impact issues that come up every year in the forum, said Daniel Davies, the WEF's associate director on the Middle East. He added that education acts as a catalyst for change; it can equip people with the tools needed to push their countries forward.
With the support of First Lady Suzanne Mubarak, the Egyptian Education Initiative (EEI) is using a public-private partnership model in a bid to improve education through the effective use of information and communication technologies (ICT).
"The [EEI] is a tremendous opportunity to provide Egypt's greatest asset - its people - with the skills necessary for the 21st century, said the First Lady during the initiative's launch.
According to Howaida Ismail, higher education track leader for the initiative, the EEI focuses on four tracks: pre-university education, higher education, lifelong learning and e-learning industry development. It is an aggregation of all efforts aimed at utilizing ICT in education reform.
"All educational institutions have been benefiting from EEI interventions since the beginning of the initiative. The lifelong learning centers are growing progressively to reach at least 800 centers by the end of the initiative, she said.
Since its launch, the EEI has delivered over 39,000 computers and 2,000 data shows to public schools across the country. It has also equipped 900 schools with ADSL. The initiative brought IT learning labs to Egypt's 18 universities and certified more than 400 local academies as e-learning centers, serving schools, universities and NGOs.
Several thousand teachers and administrators were also trained under EEI, and now know how to effectively use ICT tools in education and on digital literacy. The initiative has reached out to around 5,000 parents, who have learned how to use of ICT tools at home.
"EEI interventions have exceeded a total value of $80 million during its two years of implementation, out of which 80 percent is covered by the government of Egypt to provide the infrastructure, Ismail pointed out.
"Most of the training, capacity building programs, applications and digital content are [delivered through] our partners.
These partners include ICT giants Cisco, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, Alcatel-Lucent and Siemens, who have partnered with the Ministries of IT and Education.
"The EEI is a public-private partnership [effort] that brings strategic partners together with the government to improve the way education is provided in schools, Davies said. "It shows that if you can be creative and work collaboratively, you can implement change.
Last year, the EEI created an e-learning focus program for lifelong learners and proceeded to localize international e-content for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The EEI achievements received international recognition and won last May the first Technology in Government in Africa (TIGA) award and was later honored as Project of the Year 2007 by the Cisco Networking Award.
Still in the works is an effort to extend its expertise in delivering education through IT tools beyond Egypt's borders.
According to an official at the Ministry of Telecommunication and Information Technology, "Egypt's experience in upgrading its education through the EEI is now going global, and we are now packaging our model to implement in several African countries.


Clic here to read the story from its source.