ISLAMABAD: In a bid to prepare girl students to deal with emerging challenges, a total of 226 primary girls schools will be provided with computer laboratories and other requisite facilities in the federal capital; however, not a single boy school was included in the project.
Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) and Ministry of Information Technology signed a MoU ‘Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Girls’ for the establishment of computer laboratories and provision of computer-related technical education to the girls of Islamabad.
According to the detail, in the first phase, computer lab and other necessary equipment would be provided in 107 girls’ primary schools in the rural area by October 30; in the second, 119 girls’ schools would be provided with such facilities by the end of August 30.
A senior official at the CADD ministry told Pakistan Today that a total of 202 teachers will be hired for a period of three years who will impart computer education to 110, 000 girl students of Federal Directorate of Education (FDE).
The official said that the Ministry of IT would hire the teachers who would be paid Rs 55,000 salary.
The two sides will also collaborate to develop and implement curriculum to introduce computer education in primary schools.
The official said that the FDE formed a committee consisting of officials of the ministry of IT and CADD including educationist and linguistic experts tasked to prepare the syllabus.
They will also manage the capacity building of IT teachers engaged for the project, with respect to teaching methodologies, so that they can teach students while staying within the overall framework of FDE.
Under the project, 3,709 computers would be provided to the schools along with latest hardware and software, latest network printer and scanner to extend printing and scanning facility for the students, furniture, power backup through uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for computers, broadband Internet for three years and maintenance support of the equipment provided under the project.
The official said that the program could also replace the much hyped Smart School System, the brainchild of Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, which is still in the pipeline.
Another official said that since the project is limited to girls’ schools, why boys’ schools have been ignored in this regard because no such facility is available for them as well.
He said that the project could create a disparity between boys and girls students.
At a MoU signing ceremony, Minister of State for Information Technology, Anusha Rehman had been asked in this regard, to which she stated that girls are left behind in all fields, so the purpose was to bring the girls at par with boys, by equipping them with IT education so they could be provided opportunity to do home base work.
The CADD spokesperson told this scribe that it is true that no funds have yet been received for boys’ schools; however, CADD ministry is in contact with donors to ensure fund for the project.
He, however, said that Minister of State for CADD, Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry committed that the CADD will provide similar facilities to boys’ schools through the Prime Minister Education Reform Programme.
He said that after three years, the project, along with all infrastructure and equipment would be handed over to CADD ministry.
To a question as to how the programme could be made sustainable, he said that the CADD has to seek additional budget from the government and has to create posts for adjusting teachers through due process.
