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Ammon News - by Mohammad Ghazal/ Jordan Times

AMMAN — Jordan was classified as one of the Arab success stories in terms of schools’ access to computers, according to a report on ICT in education.

The report, which covered Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Palestine and Qatar, was authored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) and Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organisation (TAG-Org).

Released at a meeting on Sunday, the survey’s findings indicated that the ratio of learner to computer in the Kingdom in primary schools was 12, while in lower secondary schools and upper secondary schools it was seven and four respectively.

In Qatar for example, the ratio of learner to computer in primary schools was 14 and it reached eight and four in lower secondary and upper secondary schools respectively.

When it comes to the ratio of learner to computer connected to the Internet, in Jordan’s primary schools it was 16, while it reached nine and five in lower and upper secondary schools, respectively.

The study showed that 84 per cent of computers at Jordan’s primary schools are allocated for educational purposes and about 65 per cent of computers at these schools are connected to the Internet.

About 85 per cent of computers at lower secondary schools are allocated for educational purposes and about 65 per cent of computers at this school level are connected to the Internet, the study showed.

In upper secondary schools, 86 per cent of computers at these schools are installed to serve educational purposes and about 66 per cent of these schools are connected to the Internet.

The study indicated that the percentage of computers connected to the Internet was higher in private schools than public schools.

It indicated that 74 per cent of computers at the country’s private schools are connected to the Internet compared to about 60 per cent of computers at public schools.

The Kingdom was also one of the countries that have high percentage of availability of computer labs at schools.

About 96 per cent of the country’s primary and lower secondary schools have computer labs, while the percentage stands at 97 at upper secondary schools.

At the report launching ceremony, Anna Paolini, director and representative of UNESCO Office in Amman, underlined the importance of incorporating ICT education as a key element in plans to improve quality.

Connectivity at schools as well as upgrading their infrastructure are instrumental in improving the outcome of the education process, Paolini said Sunday.

TAG-Org Chairman and CEO Talal Abu-Ghazaleh stressed the significance of the survey “which serves as a good reference for decision makers in the education sector”.

He added that the rest of the Arab countries will be covered by the report in the near future.