ADB Grant to Support Use of Innovative ICT in Education

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - A US$1 million technical assistance (TA) grant will support the use of innovative information and communications technology (ICT) in education in developing countries.

The approach to ICT in education and training has been based predominantly on the supply and use of personal computers and software, and, where feasible, linked with Internet access. However, this has not always proven to be the most cost-efficient approach in several developing countries.

The reliance of developing countries on this approach alone in the past may have actually increased inequity in access to knowledge, education, and training.

"To effectively reduce the digital divide within developing countries, appropriate ICT policy and strategic frameworks are needed to maximize access and flow of knowledge to a wider range of users, particularly by utilizing the potential and opportunities arising from the latest developments in ICT," says Jouko Sarvi, an ADB Principal Education Specialist.

The TA will carry out studies to support the development of policies and strategies in the area of ICT in education, focusing on the contributions the innovations can make to improving the quality of and access to education. It will also address the feasibility and sustainability of such innovations on a larger scale.

The TA will also carry out pilot studies on e-textbook development and e-teacher training in Bangladesh, Mongolia, Nepal, and Samoa, where ADB has ongoing related projects.

To disseminate the TA results and promote the sharing of ideas about e-learning innovations, the TA will support the ongoing series of international conferences on ICT in education sponsored by ADB and the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI). The TA support will, among others, allow more experts and representatives of developing member countries to attend.

ADB will finance $800,000 of the TA's cost through a grant from the Poverty Reduction Cooperation Fund, from by the Government of the United Kingdom. ADBI will finance the balance of $200,000. The TA is due for completion in December 2007.