High Schools Underprepared for High Tech: Expert

(Photo: AP)

Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Wednesday, 15 September 2010

“How can students be obliged to learn the ICT without those facilities? It’s useless.”

When it comes to information technology curriculum, high schools have a long way to go.

“The lack of electricity and computer sets in schools is a main obstacle for the implementation of the use of ICT in senior high school education,” Kheng Piseth, Khmer OS program manager at the Open Institute, told “Hello VOA” on Monday.

“How can students be obliged to learn the ICT without those facilities?” he said. “It’s useless.”

In 2009, the Ministry of Education began developing an information communication technology, or ICT, program as a new subject for students in grades 11 and 12. The hope was to equip them with skills for their advanced education.

The new program was initially planned to kick off later this year. But only 80 of the nation's 383 high schools have computer access—with only 25 computers in some and only one in others—according to government figures. Only about half of the schools have electricity.

Meanwhile, around 100,000 students are enrolled in high schools across the country.

The ministry acknowledges its scheme has been hard to achieve in the short run.

“We cannot expect to implement it soon,” said Sok Tha, head of the ministry's ICT education department, who is in charge of the new subject. “But we may start the new subject as an alternative subject for students whose schools are already electrified and equipped with computers.”

Kheng Piseth said it is a good idea to start teaching ICT in already-equipped schools, but he added that all the necessary infrastructure for the new program should be ensured.

“Students with strong ICT skills are more likely to enter job markets than those without them,” he said.

Top in corruption ... bottom in ICT [-Title borrowed from soc.culture.Cambodia]

Singapore, China Shine in Global IT Index

The latest World Economic Forum rankings list Singapore as Asia's most "networked" economy. China is No. 46, up from 57th last year

Friday, March 27, 2009
By Vivian Yeo
ZD Net Asia

"Cambodia was the worst hit at No. 126, down 11 places from No. 115 in the last edition."

Singapore—the island-state is the most ICT-savvy economy in Asia, according to a new report released today.

The country was ranked No. 4 on the Networked-Readiness Index (NRI) of the Global Information Technology Report 2008-2009, the eighth produced by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in partnership with business school Insead. Last year, Singapore was fifth worldwide.

The index examines ICT effectiveness of economies based on three dimensions: business, regulatory and infrastructure environment for ICT; readiness of individuals, businesses and governments to benefit from ICT; and their actual usage of the latest technologies available. Through a combination of public data and executive perception surveys, a record 134 economies were reviewed this year.

In a repeat of last year, Denmark and Sweden were ranked first and second, respectively in the new index. The United States climbed up one spot to No. 3, while Switzerland fell two notches to fifth. Other Nordic countries—Finland, Iceland and Norway—also made it to the top 10, while the Netherlands and Canada took the last two spots.

Asia: More markets slip in rankings
In the case of Singapore, the strong focus on ICT, education and public-private partnership transformed the resource-lacking economy into a high-tech powerhouse within just a few decades, Irene Mia, senior economist and director at the World Economic Forum and co-editor of the Cisco-sponsored report, said in a briefing via Cisco's TelePresence technology.

"Singapore's prowess in the ICT readiness has much to do with its excellent market and regulatory environment, conducive to innovation and ICT advances, as well with the prominent and consistent role played by the government in setting a vision for ICT penetration and innovation-based development," she pointed out. "This is confirmed by the first and second positions Singapore got for the government readiness and usage, respectively.

Elsewhere across the region, several economies ascended the index. China made the most significant move up the index, occupying No. 46 compared to last year's No. 57.

At the same time, the world's most populous nation overtook India for the first time to lead the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies, said Mia. China, she told ZDNet Asia, improved "very much" over the last year in terms of ICT readiness of its stakeholders. The Chinese government, for instance, has increased its focus on ICT, which has also been worked into political agendas. "This translates into better services and efficiency," she said.

On the other hand, the country also faced some weaknesses, in terms of a low penetration rate for broadband connectivity, given its mass, she noted. There appears also to be improvement needed on the regulatory front, such as protection of intellectual property, as well as in its business environment in terms of availability of venture capital.

Nonetheless, it was clear that "China is a country that has been progressing consistently" on the index, said Mia.

Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research, said in an e-mail that in 2008, the number of Internet users in urban areas of China grew 35.6 percent over 2007, while the online population in rural areas increased 60.8 percent year-on-year to reach 84.6 million. Last year, the country's total Internet population hit 298 million.

"This trend is likely to continue as the government is investing to ensure that broadband coverage is increasingly comprehensive outside of major cities," Rein noted, adding that the authorities are likely to focus on the western and central regions where broadband penetration is currently significantly lower.

Taiwan and Japan, both in the top 20, also climbed up several notches. Vietnam, ranked No. 73 last year, rose by three places to No. 70.

However, a number of Asian economies also slid in this year's rankings. Cambodia was the worst hit at No. 126, down 11 places from No. 115 in the last edition. Indonesia and Thailand both fell seven spots to No. 83 and No. 47, respectively.

According to WEF's Mia, Indonesia seemed to lag as it did not progress as much as other countries in terms of absolute scores, while Thailand's recent political turmoil may have affected business sentiment.

India dropped four notches to No. 54, while the Philippines fell by the same margin to No. 85. Malaysia and Korea dropped two positions each, to No. 28 and No. 11, respectively.

Brunei made its entry into the index at No. 63.

Cambodia in the bottom 10 among Asia-Pacific countries in "information and communication technology (ICT)"

Nepal is bottom 8th in ICT

REPUBLICA

KATHMANDU, March 26: At a time when Nepal boasts of being the first nation in South Asia to introduce third generation (3G) telecom services, a report released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) has identified the country as one of the least networked in the world.

The report, titled Global Information Technology Report 2008-09, has placed Nepal in 127th position in the Networked Readiness Index among 134 nations of the world. Nepal was in 119th position last year. Nepal’s neighbor China leapfrogged to 46th position from 57th last year while India fell to 54th position from last year’s 50th.

The only Asian country to make the top 10 list was Singapore. Bangladesh, Cambodia and Timor-Leste were among Asia-Pacific countries in the bottom 10.

Rankings were given on the basis of availability of mobile telephony and other ICT (information and communication technology) network, and access to cell phones and internet services. Factors such as presence of an ICT-conducive environment and actual use of ICT by individuals, businesses and the government were also taken into consideration.

Biplav Man Singh, co-chairman of ICT Development Committee under the High Level Commission on Information Technology, cited Nepal’s slow pace in developing ICT infrastructure as the factor behind the country’s poor showing. “It’s a race between 134 countries,” he said. “The index shows we ran slower and fell behind.” The only way to improve our position, he added, is to run faster.

The Global Information Technology Report, first released in 2001, has been tracing the ICT revolution and evolution for eight years while generating awareness about many benefits associated with fully leveraging ICT in everyday life, in business practices, and in a government’s activities and interactions with its citizens.

WEF, in its report this year, highlights the importance of mobile telephony in social and economic development in a country and the role its plays in facilitating economic growth. “Mobile telephony has proven instrumental in raising prosperity and reducing poverty in developing countries, where it has boomed in recent years,” the report said.

The report also observes that high-speed internet offers a unique, cost-effective opportunity to enhance competitiveness and rise above physical geographical constraints. It has called high-speed networks the basic infrastructure of any country and one of the foundations of the knowledge economy.