Ict's In Education

As the global community grows, education becomes increasingly more important for every individual as well as every country. In many countries education is difficult to come by, particularly in developing countries where poverty is much more prevalent then so called first world countries such as the United States, England and pretty much the whole of Europe. With the advent of the internet, education has become increasingly more possible for anyone who has access to the internet and a computer. However, not everyone has this level of affluence. Not everyone can afford internet service much less a computer. So how do people in developing countries such as Bolivia, Ghana, Rwanda, India, and Namibia access this education so they can rise up out of poverty? Well now there is a foundation that is, as their slogan states, transforming education, empowering communities, and promoting development in these countries. GeSCI, Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative, is working to reduce poverty by helping to bring education to these people in need. Founded by the United Nations (UN) Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) Task Force in 2004 the foundation works with the governments of developing countries to harness the potential of ICTs to improve the quality of teaching and learning in communities and schools.

India is a good example of why GeSCI is needed in communities worldwide. Even though there are 1.12 million schools spanning 35 states and union territories there are still 35 million children who are not in school. This is the world’s largest out-of-school population. So what is being done about this situation?

What is GeSCI doing in India? Currently in the early stages of planning GeSCI is focusing on helping the Department of School Education (DoSE), Ministry of Human Resources and Development (MHRD), and Ministry of Education (MoE) in conjunction with Rajasthan Education Initiative (REI) to create ICT enabled school environments. The following steps are taken to lay out the policies and framework for the DoSE and MHRD, to assume its leadership role in the ICT in School Education arena:

• Developing an appropriate framework to support the effective deployment and integration of ICTs in the Education system.

• Providing a platform for dialogue amongst all relevant stakeholders to ensure alignment of plans, programs and projects.

• Evolving a strategy for leveraging economies of scale in procurement of standard content, equipment and services, and leveraging resources from other partners.

• Evolving a mechanism to ensure that knowledge, expertise and skills are shared across all states and territories.

• Building in house capacities within the MoE to conduct regular updates for ensuring a dynamic and live policy.

It is through steps like these just mentioned, GeSCI will help elevate educational systems in developing nations around the world and begin bringing people and communities out of poverty and into an overall better living situation. Giving people access to education helps the individual grow to become a more discerning and responsible participant of the global family. These individuals as community members will hopefully begin to bring themselves, their families and their communities out of poverty with their newly gained insights. And, as communities grow in education and economic affluence townships, cities, states and countries as a whole grow. GeSCI may be a relatively new foundation but it is making many inroads with its work.

By: Jack Moe

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