National ICT Strategy for Education Sector, Pakista

Presented by Mr. Sarfraz Ahmed Syed, Joint Secretary

Ministry of Education, Pakistan

At the
UNESCO’s EduTech Toolkit
An ICT-in-Education Toolkit For Policy-Makers, Planners, and Practitioner

UNESCO (Bangkok) Workshop

2-4 March, 2004
Why ICT in Education ?

The advent of Information Super highway expansion

that education needs no longer be limited to face-to-
face learning. Learners can choose their own places,
time and mode of study. The education institutions
are no longer considered the sole provision of
knowledge. Information Technology will continue to
be pervasive and multidimensional in providing
access to learning. Using ICT to instruct, and learning
program to meet the needs of learners is an
important factor in meeting educational needs of
students.
Political Commitment for ICT
in Education:

Government stands committed for

developing a comprehensive ICT policy for
education integrated within National IT
Policy, good governance and poverty
reduction strategy.
 ICT Provision in Education
Policy:
 Computer literacy shall be spread among all educational
planners and managers and will be made an integral
part of all management training courses conducted at
Federal, Provincial and District Levels.

 School curricula shall be reviewed to include recent

development in information technology.

 Computer education shall be made a compulsory

component for all training program into education
sector.
 Objectives:

 Using ICT to increase productivity, efficiency and

effectiveness of the management system

 ICT to be used as an enabler to reduce the digital gap

between the haves and have-nots.

 Function of ICT in education as a teaching and learning

tool, as part of a subject, and as a subject by itself.
 Initiatives:
 Online computer linking Federal and Provincial Department of Education in
phase-I and expanding to Districts in phase-II for direct access to
information and EMIS from districts and provinces.
 Website of Provincial Education Departments and the Ministry of Education
are in place with information on policy, programs and budget.
 Government of Punjab has identified the Ministry of Education for
implementation of e-government.
 Intel trained 38,000 government teacher and master trainer.
 Capacity building of education planner and managers by Microsoft Partners
in Learning Program.
 Development of online and CD-ROM based courses in Science, English, Urdu
and Math through private sector initiative in software.
 Developing a National Strategy incorporating ICTs in education system in
Pakistan.
 Existing Infrastructure

 5 Internet café per 10,000.

 IT infrastructure in 1000 locations.

 7000 Institutes for primary to tertiary education have

established IT labs.

 A vigorous and comprehensive IT driven regime in

tertiary education is fully underway.
 Information & Communication Technology
has enormous role for sustainable education
development in Pakistan. We have to
develop a National Strategy for integration
of ICT to support education in Pakistan.
National ICT Strategy for Education Sector, Pakistan
Presented by Anjum Pervaiz (ICT Advisor)

At the
UNESCO’s EduTech Toolkit
An ICT-in-Education Toolkit For Policy-Makers, Planners, and Practitioners

UNESCO (Bangkok) Workshop

2-4 March, 2004
Overview
 Background and Current Situation
 Goals
 Process for Developing the National
ICT Strategy for the Education Sector,
leading towards implementation.
 Information which would be useful.
Background and Current
Situation
 ICT in Education is now a priority with the
Government
 Background of ESRA and website
 Agreement with the Ministry of Education
 Realization that there are many pockets of
effort with no co-ordination, resulting in poor
distribution of financial resources, duplication
of effort, lack of knowledge etc.
Goals
CORE: The National ICT Strategy for the
Education Sector is to be a
comprehensive plan of action supported
by a number of commissioned
background papers. The core/action plan
is meant to be a clear concise accessible
document that communicates an
umbrella that can frame specific schemes
and guide interaction with the private
sector.
Specific Targets
The National ICT Strategy should identify
specific opportunities where concentrated
effort has the potential to yield significant
results – such as by targeting civil service
institutions and changing their curriculum.
What can the ICT National
Strategy do?
 Build consensus among all levels of
stakeholders

 Identify opportunities for connecting

initiatives and objectives of other
ministries.

 ICTs should not be an end in themselves,

but a means to an end.
Process: Step One

Identified Key Areas for Studies in order to

establish the reality of the situation. These
areas are:
  Environmental Scan – what is the readiness of ICT in Pakistan,
where are the opportunities?
 Current Infrastructure of:
 Schools in terms of student population, staff training,
geographical location and resources
 Utilities like electricity, power, communication
Process: Step One
(contd…)
 Future Plans e.g.
 What are the plans for infrastructure?
 Wireless networks
 Radio Frequency Allocations
 Bandwidth
 Digital library project
 Computers in schools
 Web-based training programs
 Linking various government departments through online
communication
 Professional Development
Process: Step One
(contd…)
 Identify list of every activity going-on in Pakistan e.g.
 INTEL’s Teach to the Future Program and
 Microsoft’s Partners in Learning initiative.
 Provincial Governments
 Schools - Public & Private
 NGOs & Corporations
Process: Step Two

Conduct Pilot projects to TEST out the reality of

the situation.

Example:
Videoconferencing for Distance Education
Process: Step Three
Ensuring representation by all key persons and
stakeholders:

Steering
Committee

Advisory
ESRA Board
 Steering Committee
Responsibilities
 The Steering Committee decides on the basic
structure, timeline and makes
recommendations.

 The Steering Committee will lay out the

structure and assign responsibilities, approve
the work of the staff and work with the
Advisory Board and to accept the final plan.
 ESRA Responsibilities

 Conduct Pilots & report its findings

 ESRA will draft the Strategy, and co-ordinate with the
authors who have been contracted or commissioned to
write the background papers
 synthesize the feedback from the Advisory Board
 finalize the commissioned papers
 Lead and Convene the meetings at various levels
 Finalize the National ICT Strategy
 After approval by the Steering Committee, present the
final document, and disseminate the plans
 possibly arrange a high level national level conference
 Pakistan’s National ICT Strategy
Process
Steering
Committee

Approval of Advisory Board

Research papers Members approved

ESRA Advisory Board

provides input on the
following topics:
• Hardware & Infrastructure
Commission Papers • Software, Content & Pedagogy
Conduct Pilots • Professional Development
Conduct Studies • Economic Considerations
• Equitable Access
• Sustainability

Advisory Board Steering Committee

ESRA prepares the
Reviews the reviews the Amended
First Draft
Draft First Draft

ESRA & Advisory Board ESRA

S.C. accepts
finalize the disseminates
the final version
ICT National Strategy & Publicizes
 National ICT Strategy for Education Sector Reform in Pakistan
Conceptual Framework

INITIATIVES
INPUTS Hardware & RESULTS
Infrastructure

Implementations &
Assessment
Current situation & Software, Content &

Interactions
Pedagogy Recommendations
present infrastructure
Professional Research &
Goals, Standards & Development Evaluation
Time Frames
Economic
Considerations
Current International
Strategies & Stellar Equitable Access
Examples

Sustainability
 Information which would be useful.

 Example of experiences from different countries

would be useful: key changes, time-frames, key
players in implementing the change.
 Tools for measuring cost-effectiveness.
 Tools for Planning
 Need –Based toolkit would be useful for Assessment,
Monitoring and Evaluation tools.
 Material for ICT Awareness at various levels
Information which would be useful
 Specific case studies of projects that were
implemented/tested and lessons learned
 Seeking “ champions” in the international
community who can understand the
issues in Pakistan AND provide support
from their own experiences.