From Sweden to Myanmar
According to the World Bank, only 54 per cent of secondary-school aged children in Myanmar are enrolled in schools in Myanmar.
To Sweden-based Ericsson, this is where public-private partnerships like its “Connect to Learn” project can dramatically improve access to quality education.
Under the project which began in June 2015, 155 teachers from all 31 schools in Mandalay, Mon and Bago states have successfully completed the first stage of their training, which will now allow them to begin integrating ICT into their classroom teaching, and to use the internet to enrich the learning experience of students.
In addition, the second batch of 300 scholarships were awarded recently to deserving girl students from Mon and Bago in Myanmar, bringing the number of total scholarships awarded to 600. Connect to Learn will improve literacy in both the local language and in English, as well as improve numeracy for over 21,000 students in total in Myanmar, by early 2017.
Connect to Learn is a public-private partnership that involves the use of ICT solutions to promote universal access to quality secondary education in developing countries. Supporting it were the UK Department for International Development’s (DFID) Girls' Education Challenge.
Mats H Olsson, Ericsson’s senior vice president and head of Asia-Pacific, Ericsson, says: “Connect to Learn in Myanmar is an example of how private-public partnerships work well to bring positive developments in society. While Ericsson is leading the initiative, our partners all tirelessly contributed their expertise and resources to bring 21st century education to Myanmar.”
DFID is providing approximately 3.7 million (approximately US$ 5.4 million) in funding, which will be matched by the partners through cash and in-kind contributions.
Sardar Umar Alam, Head of UNESCO Yangon, says, “Being the first-of-its-kind ICT for Education project in Myanmar, UNESCO tailor-made basic ICT skills training, including the use of mobile broadband networks and learning applications, for selected teachers in the project schools. Additional training is planned to further develop the skills of teachers to integrate ICT and apply multimedia in their teaching and learning. We believe the training will not only improve quality of education in classrooms, but will also enhance overall innovation in teaching and learning with this empowerment of teachers in Myanmar.”
“As the population of Myanmar begins to enjoy the benefits of mobile communications, Ericsson’s goal is to ensure that Myanmar’s youth are supported to reach their full potential,” Olsson said.
