ICT at AL exams in Sri Lanka from 2009
Information Communication Technology ICT will be included as a subject in the Advanced Level examination curriculum from 2009 in Sri Lanka, as informed by the Secretary to the Ministry of Education Ariyarathne Hewage. He said approval for the ICT policy for education will be obtained soon and it will help develop capacity, train teachers, set up ICT centres and build private public partnerships.
Ariyarathne said information technology and computer science has grown at a phenomenal rate to a US$ 1 trillion industry but the country has not been able to keep pace with developments due to the lack of skilled IT personnel. The challenge today is to get IT professionals for the market. The IT workforce grew by 10,000 during 2004-2006. Over 14,000 IT workers are required to meet the industry needs in the next two years.
Varsities adopt ICT curriculum to meet market needs
The government in Malaysia will ensure that higher learning institutions (IPT) implement curriculums that meet the needs of the industry in the field of information and communications technology (ICT) in efforts to fill up the 60,000 vacancies in that sector in the next four years.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed said the implementation of such curriculums was necessary as some of the human capital churned out could not meet the market requirements to the extent that further training had to be carried out. He said, a new curriculum on software engineering would be introduced in local IPTs beginning with the July session to produce more ICT professionals of world standard.
Bangladeshi Solar power boat for education
The Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy, held in London, United Kingdom, awarded ventures from Bangladesh, China, India, Laos and Tanzania first prizes of USD60,000 each to further their schemes. One of the prize winners for Education, Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha designed a fleet of solar-powered boats to deliver education and supplies to the remote Chalanbeel region of Bangladesh. The locally produced boats provide floating classrooms for primary level schoolchildren, and are equipped with a library and Internet access.
Pakistan Govt to offer satellite based e-Learning programme
Pakistan Government is working on a satellite based distance learning programme to deliver TV, content and Internet for Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU).
The project will develop the infrastructure for a modern technology based distance education including interactive satellite based TV channels. The programme will create digital content and deliver the content through a satellite based network from studios to study centres, schools, and colleges. The Higher Education Commission (HEC), will connect the main campus to regional centres, elected schools, and colleges through Wide Area Network (WAN). The establishment of an IT Directorate will develop, maintain and provide IT services to the university, students and tutors, as well as improve quality of assessment of students and reform examination system using online assessment methods and tools.
Singapore Foundation to set up schools in Indian State
Singapore-based Global Indian Foundation (GIF) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Gujarat (India) Government to set up world-class schools in the tribal districts of the State.
Under this MoU, the first such school would be set-up at Vejalpur in the Panchmahals district, known as Mahatma Gandhi Eklavya School, and it would be managed by the elite Navrachana International School, Vadodara. GIF, a non-profit foundation set by Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) of Gujarat has already established schools in Asia-Pacific region at Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, New Zealand, Thailand and India. Now GIF is planning to open more schools in Australia and the US.
