MANILA, PHILIPPINES - ADB will help the Government of Uzbekistan improve the quality and relevance of basic education through a new loan of $30 million to integrate information and communications technology (ICT) into teaching and learning.
The project will equip 860 designated cluster leader schools with ICT facilities and Internet/intranet connections. The 860 school clusters established will play a key role in facilitating ICT integration in all schools numbering more than 9,700 in Uzbekistan, including pedagogical and technical cluster leader schools.
The Government will provide ICT facilities to the other schools as part of its ICT in basic education program, and the leader schools will provide pedagogical and technical support to the schools within their clusters and will serve as an effective mechanism for improving in-service teacher training.
Integrating ICT in basic education is an integral part of the Government's long-term objective of transforming the education system into one consistent with a market-based economy in the 21st century. In 2004, only 18% of general secondary schools had access to modern personal computers and only half of schools had access to any form of computers, including those made during the Soviet era.
ADB has developed a two-phased national strategy for developing ICT in basic education and the project is a key component of implementation of the first phase during 2006-2010. Based on a comprehensive approach, the project emphasizes teacher training, materials development, e-readiness in schools, operation and maintenance, and financial sustainability through adequate budget allocations.
"The use of ICT in basic education will lead to improved student performance and enhanced skills and competencies, as opposed to the accumulation of just factual knowledge," says Lan Wu, an ADB Principal Social Sector Economist. "It will motivate students and teachers alike by making education more relevant."
More than six million students over the next four years stand to benefit from the project through improved learning and teaching conditions resulting from the provision and application of ICT in classrooms.
More than 90,000 teachers, school management staff, teacher trainers, and local language e-material developers will also benefit from improved skills through the targeted training to be provided under the project. Learning materials for ICT use covering the priority subjects of mathematics, sciences, history, and languages for grades 5-9 will be developed. Training will also be provided to school administrative staff and teachers in non-leader schools in the clusters.
As about 70% of the cluster leader schools will be in poor, rural, and remote areas, the project will especially benefit the poor by providing the disadvantaged with equitable access to information.
To ensure the sustainability of the Government's ICT in basic education policy, the project will provide advisory services on technical, financial, and fiscal issues. It will also pilot test approaches to enhance the project's sustainability and future ICT development that focuses on the poor.
ADB's loan, which covers 70% of the total project cost, comes from its concessional Asian Development Fund. It carries a 32-year term, including a grace period of eight years, and an interest rate of 1% per annum during the grace period and 1.5% per annum thereafter.
The Government will contribute $13 million equivalent toward the project's total cost of $43 million. The Ministry of Public Education is the executing agency for the project, which is due for completion around December 2010.
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MANILA, PHILIPPINES (10 March 2005) - ADB will help prepare a project to integrate information and communications technology (ICT) into basic education in Uzbekistan through a technical assistance (TA) grant approved for US$600,000.
The TA will prepare an ICT development strategy for basic education and a feasibility study for a project that will introduce an ICT-based approach to teaching and learning in certain grade levels and subjects in basic education based on this strategy.
"ICT should be used not only to improve computer literacy but also, more importantly, to improve the quality and relevance of basic education in general," says Lan Wu, an ADB Senior Social Economist.
"International experience shows that appropriate use of ICT helps students score high on achievement tests, learn more in less time, and develop positive attitudes toward their classes and learning. ICT also has a potentially important role in ensuring access to education for students in remote rural areas."
While Uzbekistan scores high on education-related Millennium Development Goals, with a net enrolment rate at 99% and no major gender differentials, basic education is often of low quality and relevance.
A recent United Nations Development Programme report shows that Uzbekistan is still at a very early stage of ICT development. More than 80% of equipment is outdated, and there are insufficient computers even for computer classes, let alone for broader integration of ICT into the curriculum. Only half of schools offer computer classes, and many have no access to computer equipment.
A national ICT strategy, developed in 2002, aims to increase the computer-student ratio from 1:110 to 1:20 and provide Internet access to 63% of all schools by 2010, from only 0.2% now. The ICT development strategy to be prepared by the TA will help define how these goals will be reached.
The TA will take a participatory approach to build consensus among stakeholders on key challenges facing ICT development in basic education, and focus on developing targeted policies and mechanisms to help bridge the internal digital divide between urban and rural areas. It will also explore ways to promote public and private sector partnerships in ICT development.
"An information- and knowledge-based economy will enable Uzbekistan to benefit fully from a global economy that is becoming ever more integrated," adds Mr. Wu. "Such an economy will enhance Uzbekistan's competitiveness within the Central Asia region."
The Government will contribute $150,000 equivalent toward the TA's total cost of $750,000. The Ministry of Public Education is the executing agency for the TA, which will be carried out over 12 months to about February 2006.
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Project or program administration manuals provide essential administrative and management requirements for project or program implementations.
This document dated August 2013 is provided for the ADB project 43407-013 in the Philippines.
