The Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) education sector is set to increase the use of ‘smart’ devices for teaching and learning purposes to 100 per cent by 2017, according to a recent study.

ICDL Arabia, the governing body and certification authority for the ICDL certificate programme in Egypt, GCC States and Iraq, has welcomed this move, stating that the increased use of information and communications technology (ICT) will help in delivering quality education and raising the bar in line with international standards.

The GCC education sector witnessed investment in the region of $616 million, accounting for nearly 2.3 per cent of total investments, and is expected to grow at an annual rate of 10.4 per cent between 2013 and 2017.

This is at par with global IT investment in the education sector which is set at 2.5 per cent or $51 billion. Over 90 per cent of the region’s educational institutions utilise laptops and tablets in order to transform from a teacher to a learner-centric learning approach.

Jamil Ezzo, director general, ICDL Arabia, said: “ICDL Arabia commends the GCC education sector’s move towards ‘smart’ literacy to ensure a more informative and interactive way of learning. The use of ICT technology in schools and educational institutions will also mean an increased utilisation of ‘smart’ devices for transfer of knowledge from teachers to students.

“Such a move should be supported by appropriate training programmes of teachers for a successful transition so that they quickly adapt to the new changes in their educational environment and curriculum.”

The UAE Ministry of Education has expanded its programme to bring ‘smart’ learning to classrooms for the 2014-2015 academic year, providing almost 25,000 students with tablets, said the study.

Nearly 123 more schools will be integrated under the three-year programme which has been allocated a budget of Dh253 million ($68.8 million) and will conclude in September.

The government has also planned to integrate all its 440 public schools with ‘smart’ technology by 2020.

Qatar, on the other hand, had earmarked $7.2 billion for its education sector last year with a 100 per cent increase for the next five years, while Kuwait’s expenditure on education is expected to touch $8.3 billion by 2016.

ICDL has worked closely with a number of educational and vocational standards authorities across the world and designed a certification programme specifically for educators so that they are able to employ mobile devices in the class room.

The programme offers a range of skills involving smart devices such as smart boards, projectors, personal computers and tablets.

In addition, the new ICDL skills programme combines skills in IT security and online collaboration so that teachers can guide students on the safe and secure use of modern devices and social media. - TradeArabia News Service