DILI, 06 november 2023 (TATOLI) – UNICEF handed over an assortment of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) equipment and school backpacks to the Ministry of Education.
More than 17,510 children from Ainaro, Ermera, and Liquiça municipalities will benefit from this assortment of equipment, which includes computers, printers, and backup devices.
The equipment being handed over includes 20 laptops, four desktop computers, color printers, two scanners, four projectors, eight tonners, and 12 Tespacks, which are designed as backup devices.
This handover is part of a bigger program to help keep the education system in Timor-Leste at pace with current global advances in ICT. Already, UNICEF is supporting the Ministry of Education with the rollout of the Learning Passport initiative, which is an on- and off-line learning platform to support education continuity and home learning.
“We are living in an era where ICT devices and platforms are an integral part in every aspect of our lives, including in education. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools were closed to contain the spread of the virus, learning continuity was only made possible through ICT platforms and devices such as computers and mobile phones,” said the UNICEF Representative, Bilal Aurang Zeb Durrani.
Despite the known benefits and potential of ICT to learning, very few Timorese schools have the necessary equipment and infrastructure to introduce ICT and digital literacy classes. In Timor-Leste, most schools lack computers and internet access and there are still gaps in teachers’ capacities to deliver lessons on ICT and through digital platforms. In addition, digital literacy is only introduced at secondary school levels, and the lessons are often just theoretical, without actual practice or contact with ICT devices.
“On behalf of the Government of Timor-Leste, I want to thank UNICEF for bringing technology to help modernise our schools, which is in line with the IX Government’s priority on digitalization of Learning. I want to encourage those schools that have installed the ICT equipment to use it and not just have it displayed in the schools. Once again the Ministry of Education is very appreciative of UNICEF’s support to Government’s work to provide quality education for children,” said Dulce de Jesus Soares, Minister of Education.
In collaboration with the National Directorate of Information System and Technology, National Directorate of Basic Education, and INFORDEPE, UNICEF will provide a Training on ICT, targeting a pool of INFORDEPE trainers who will further train teachers and students in selected Basic Education Schools.
Journalist: José Belarmino De Sá
Editor: Filomeno Martins
