Jordan Times
Sunday, August 15, 2004
IT in the Kingdom a 'success,' says
study
AMMAN (JT) — An assessment study on the situation of IT in Jordan has labelled as a
“success” plans by the Ministry of Education (MoE) in the field of IT and
communication methods provision.
The study revealed that computers' availability rates and
indicators of computer usage in the education and learning process are close to their
peers in advanced countries.
The study, prepared by the National Centre for the Development of Human Resources, was the
main subject of a workshop organised by the Ministry of Education last Thursday.
Indicators regarding IT infrastructure and communications in the Kingdom's schools and
those concerning the level of training for schoolteachers point to a “high
readiness” and highlight the considerable potential for improving the quality of
education in the Kingdom.
The study noted that the past years have seen a leap in the use of communications
technology in education. The use is expected to increase further after the ministry has
given momentum to its IT plans by establishing and putting into service the Queen Rania Al
Abdullah E-Learning Centre.
Commenting on the findings of the study, Minister of Education Khalid Touqan stressed the
importance of benefiting from the study in order to direct the ministry's policies
regarding the use of IT and communications to enhance the educational process.
He added that monitoring and assessment methods to follow up on the process of technology
entrance in education are based on studies implemented in 25 countries.
The head of the Global Development Learning Network Centre (GDLN) — Atheer, Khalid
Ajlouni, the director of the National Centre for the Development of Human Resources,
Munther Masri, and the Dutch expert, Hans Belgram, took part in the workshop.
According to the Ministry of Education's website, there are over 1,650 schools equipped
with PCs, networking and basic peripherals, in more than 1,724 labs. It is expected that
about 1,100 secondary schools, selected from different directorates, will have Internet
access by the end of the year as part of an agreement between MoE and JTC. Other public
schools will be connected thereafter at the rate of about 200 schools per month. Four
schools have video conferencing facilities, and 10 schools have been connected via the
Schools Online Programme.