Description of project

Implementing agencies
The project will be coordinated by the Ministry of Education under the supervision of a National Project coordinator (National Open School), who will directly liaise with UNESCO New Delhi

Region/country covered
Sri Lanka

Target beneficiaries/ partners
This project aims to bring the following groups in the country together for replicating and developing models for ICT use in Education for All:

a) Students of schools who sit for GCE (O/L) in 2004. (Such schools should conform to the requirements of IT education infrastructure).
b) ICT professionals
c) R&D institutions in ICT
d) Private Sector Organizations involved in ICT enabled Education
e) State Institutions in Educational Research and Training
f) National Institute of Education, Maharagama.
g) National Open University

Duration
Two years

Context

The Ministry of Education (MOE) has adopted at the policy stage the introduction of IT as a subject at the General Certificate of Education, Ordinary Level, while the National Institute of Education (NIE) has included this introduction in its annual plan for 2002. It has been also accepted that IT, should be introduced at G.C.E. level to give students a wider selection of optional subjects and to provide an earlier opportunity to study IT than in many other countries. These facilities are proposed to be made available as a pilot project, through selected cluster networks of schools in the nine provinces comprising twenty-five districts in Sri Lanka.

As an initial first phase pilot project, it is envisaged to target only those schools that have Advanced Level training streams. A cluster of schools in each district will have recourse to selected schools centres in the districts and provinces, who will be provided with the infrastructure and human resource capacity to impart knowledge and teaching in I.T. education.

UNESCO has in the past, been involved in the capacity building efforts of the Open University of Srilanka (Project Co-ordinator for the Project) and the National Institute of Education (Curriculum development, teacher guides and text books). UNESCO also provided technical assistance in 1997/8 for the restructuring of the general system of education in Sri Lanka.

Problems and needs to be addressed

Sri Lanka has launched professional development programmes to train teachers in the use of computers. However, most of these training activities are crash programmes, which focus on computer literacy per se and do not enable teachers to return to their classrooms with the ability to use the computers in teaching their assigned subjects.

Teachers still require not only training in computer literacy, but also in how to apply various educational software in teaching and learning and how to integrate this resource into their classroom activities and school structure.

This project will therefore aim at helping upgrade knowledge and skills of teachers and facilitators in genuinely integrating educational technologies in their work. More broadly, it will also aim at tapping the potential of new ICT (including distance education methods) for more easily accessible and better teachers education and professional development, supporting teacher education reforms taking place in many countries, and reducing the gap between and within countries in terms of qualified teachers trained in new learning environments.

Strategies

• Identification of cluster schools and teacher trainers
• Development of teacher training syllabus and training materials
• Training of trainers (who are already trained to teach IT related subjects) and orienting them for teacher training
• Training of teachers who do not have ICT capabilities, to build their IT capacities at Educational Zonal levels
• Identification and acceptance of appropriate models with appropriate content of IT for Sri Lankan schools, through a committee appointed representing Universities, Industry professionals and Educationalists
• Study of comparative models by visiting the institutions of selected countries
• Formulation and development of curriculum, implementation and evaluation of teachers guides, resource books, model question papers, etc.
• Regional Education Directors of each province will organize and monitor the teachers training programmes in clusters of schools in collaboration with the National Project coordinator and the Ministry of Education
• Selected schools will offer this subject, provided that required infrastructure facilities and human resource are established.
• The National Institute of Education Maharagama will undertake development of curriculum and related teacher guides and textbooks.
• MOE shall provide the equipment and facilities for the schools. Making use of existing facilities shall also be explored.
• Long term sustainability of the project - With the building of the capacities of the National Institute of Education - Maharagama and other State Institutions of Educational Research and Training in ICTs and training of trainers in the field of ICT, the government shall provide regular funds allocations to phase out external assistance, in a gradually expanding scenario in the use of IT in the country. Private sector organizations may also fund such training, in order to recuperate trained professionals in IT for commerce and industry.
• The National Open University will serve as the nodal co-coordinating agency for this project and will operate from its Headquarters in Colombo. The work would be decentralized to its Regional Centres and other teacher training institutions in the region, especially in the documentation of ICT related local experiences, successful case studies, organizing seminars for sensitizing people to the need of ICT policy formulation and developing an action plan for 2004-2010. A core staff of 5 at the Headquarters and 2 each at the Regional Centers and Open Universities (OUs) in the country would be appointed to manage the project at the national and regional level. The participating institutions would provide the infrastructure.
• Senior functionaries from the governments, Ministries of Education/Human Resource Development, Planning Commission etc. of respective countries would be invited as advisors and participants at various stages of the project including workshops, seminars, and activities carried out to meet the project objectives. Those with expertise and long experience in this area would be contacted to catalyze the process of national policy formulation.
• A number of schools, colleges, universities and communities particularly those in the deprived areas, would be selected to participate in the project, especially in contributing and documenting local experiences of the use of ICT.
• The NGOs, the ICT private sector and the Civil Society will be invited to participate as advisors and experts in all projects related activities. Those with long experience in this area would be contracted to also serve as trainers in various capacities, e.g. to run workshops on use of ICT enabled education, capability building for national ICT policy formulation.
• UNESCO and other stakeholders, including the donor community would be responsible for the overall execution of the project and financial assistance. Efforts would be made to seek donations of ICT hardware from all countries comprising the donor community. 

Long-term objectives

To strengthen the training and professional development of teachers and non-formal education facilitators in the integration of ICT in education, which would lead to a larger programme.

Immediate objectives

• Identify the most appropriate use of ICT in teacher/facilitator education and professional development.
• Strengthen national capacity for developing and implementing policies and programmes in the use of ICT for such education and professional development.
• Enhance the ability of teachers/facilitators in using ICT as a tool, as a subject, and as an educational resource.
• Develop and put in operation, networking of regional and international on-line curriculum centers for teacher training and courseware information in order to promote partnerships and networking for Web-based teacher training.

Activities

• Carry out a needs assessment, in collaboration with UNESCO, New Delhi and UNESCO Regional Bureau of Education in Asia. Support to the formulation of national policies to expand and improve the use of ICT by teachers and learning center facilitators.
• Identify schools and teacher trainers.
• Engage experts to develop course materials on ICT as a subject and as an educational resource in initial teacher/facilitator education and of modules/materials and ‘best courseware’ for use in in-service training.
• A series of national/sub-regional workshops to plan programmes for the training of trainers and curriculum planners concerned with the training of teachers and facilitators in the use of ICT in education.
• Development of ICT software and of appropriate curriculum for large-scale teacher/facilitators training in the use of ICT in consultation with academics, industry professionals and educationalists. Enhance computer laboratories.
• The training of teachers and learning center staff in ICT literacy, in using ICT for teaching selected subjects, and in developing local materials in local languages, sharing information and network, and accessing useful information resources, involving clusters of schools.
• Regional and international partnerships and networking for on-line Web-based teacher education. Study comparative models for IT in schools.
• Coordination, Evaluation and Monitoring. UNESCO, Ministry of HRD and the National Institute of Education & Training, Maharagama, shall carry out Monitoring. The National Open University shall assist in co-ordination. Evaluation may be carried out in a participatory manner by an external evaluator.

Expected results

• Teacher trainers and teachers trained on the concept and best practices in ICT enabled education, including ‘web’ development.
• A minimum of four mobile ICT in education units established to serve the deprived schools and communities.
• Technical capacity for teachers in the use of ICT for preparing interactive instructional modules in respective subject areas upgraded
• A platform or forum for interactive discussion among educators, policy planners, government functionaries and educational administrators established and freedom of expression promoted.
• A developed information services network is expected to be operational.
• A total of 2428 schools in twenty five districts of Sri Lanka, conducting Advanced Level Studies are expected to benefit from a first phase, covering the Western and Sabaragamuwa province, Southern and Uva province, North Western, North Central and Central province, as also, the eastern and northern provinces. The target date for completion of first phase is end 2004.