Jordan Times
Saturday, May 15, 2004

Jordan Education Initiative is on track, Touqan tells ICT company representatives

By Rami Abdelrahman

AMMAN , May 15 - His Majesty King Abdullah today opens the second World Economic Forum on the eastern shores of the Dead Sea .

More than 1,350 participants are expected to attend the forum, held under the theme: "Facing the Real Challenges: Partnering for Change, Peace and Development," and to direct the thrust of their discussions and debates on policy reform in the region.

WEF, the second to be hosted by the Kingdom, will focus on four key areas: Partnering for regional reform, defining the business agenda, transitioning Iraq — Iraq revisited and the global agenda: Impact on the Region.

On Friday, the WEF session on the Jordan Education Initiative (JEI) concluded in Amman with representatives of 34 major ICT companies exchanging views on reinforcing public-private sector partnership, especially in the field of computerized education.

Almost a year after the JEI was launched at the Dead Sea in June 2003, Minister of Education Khalid Touqan told a meeting of 200 participants that the initiative “is on track as a driver of educational change in the 21st century, where technology increasingly pervades all aspects of our lives.”

“Technology as a tool for effective learning and teaching is an integral part of all current and future education reform,” Touqan added.

The JEI is a public-private partnership between the members of the World Economic Forum and the government, to examine and explore innovative ideas for educational reform to meet the needs of a knowledge economy, test alternative models of delivery, and create and facilitate a forum for debate on educational policy development.

Jordan was chosen as the pilot nation for the implementation of the project, and several “Discovery Schools” were selected to pilot the scheme in the Kingdom. They served as a test bed of how ICT can enable new systems to be used and benefit schools and their pupils.

The minister told participants that a number of “important milestones” have been achieved.

“We have a fiber-broadband connecting three schools to compliment the existing ADSL connectivity of other schools... We have introduced in six schools the concept of blended e-Learning, and are rolling out to an additional eight... We have engaged 17 global partners, 17 local entities and 11 global governmental and non-governmental organizations ensuring a diversity of thought and innovation in our model,” Touqan explained.

The WEF participants also visited Iskan Jama Secondary School in the capital to see how the e-mathematics curricula is taught to students, using computers and projectors, which according to the teachers and students made the classes more beneficial and at the same time fun.

Tae Yoo, vice president, corporate affairs of Cisco Systems, one of the JEI partners, told The Jordan Times her firm was looking forward to continuing partnership with Jordanian companies in this field, adding that the Kingdom has become “a leader in technology,” which other countries can learn from.

“We have a firm belief it doesn't matter where you live, quality curriculum can be given to you with the support and commitment of government, so every one can have an economic opportunity. We have allocated significant resources to see this happening in Jordan ,” she said.

Meanwhile, Microsoft Corporation and Jordan-based Menhaj Educational Technologies signed a strategic partnership agreement on Thursday for the development of the ICT curriculum for the Ministry of Education, part of the JEI's e-curricula development track.

“Microsoft is committed to working with our partners in the Middle East to help students in the region get the most out of education and realize their full potential,” Maggie Wilderotter, senior vice president for the public sector at Microsoft Corporation told The Jordan Times.

“His Majesty King Abdullah has been focusing on children and long-term foundation of technology to help Jordanians realize their potential,” Wilderotter said, describing the achievements in the Jordan Education Initiative as “incredible.”

Menhaj CEO Ghassam Lahham said he believes partnering with world leaders like Microsoft to create new solutions was the best way to help the ministry achieve the initiative's objectives.

Back to May 16, 2004