The education ministry on Thursday launched the first-ever 'National Information and Communication Technology (NICT) Strategy for Education in Pakistan.
A ceremony held in this regard, at the Academy for Educational Planning and Management (AEPAM), was presided over by Minister of State for Education Anisa Zeb Tahirkhaili and attended by Tahmina Alam Dasti, chairperson, NA Standing Committee on Education, Pamela Anderson (USAID) and Richard Cartier of USAID/ESRA.
The NICT strategy was prepared in collaboration with USAID/Education Sector Reform Assistance (ESRA) Program, Ministry of Information Technology and provincial education departments after consultations with all the stakeholders.
The minister said the strategy would provide guidelines for using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to improve not only teaching methodology, but also management. It will also transform learning by integrating ICT into schools to provide students with chances to explore, investigate, reflect and learn social skills like collaboration, logical reasoning, and creative expressions, she added. Anisa hoped that the ICT would be creatively utilised to reach students and teachers, which are inaccessible or located in remote areas. They should also assist teachers and students with wide ranging abilities, she said.
The minister emphasised that the ICT must facilitate people with special needs such as blindness, deafness and physical handicap. We must rise above the biases of gender, age, financial status and other social or cultural factors that might otherwise impede access to quality education, with the help of the ICT, she said.
Earlier, in his address of welcome, Dr Fayyaz Ahmed, joint educational advisor, Ministry of Education, said the process of NICT strategy development was started in December 2004. Local leaders from all levels of the education system and provinces were invited to share their knowledge and expertise. Furthermore, ICT experts from Thailand, Malaysia and the United States also participated in the process to make a valuable strategy for education in Pakistan, he said.
Dr Fayyaz said that three background papers included, an environmental scan of past and present ICT for education activities in Pakistan, information and communication technology for education, lessons from international experiences, and a review of educational reform plans.
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