Invited speeches: The language factor in ICT education: A case from rural Pakistan

Abstract

ICTs have an immense potential to contribute to socio-economic development of Pakistan. ICT Education is a necessary pre-requisite, to enable Pakistanis to use ICTs to access online content and to generate it. However, 91% schools of Pakistan are not English medium, and only 10% of Pakistanis are English literate. In the context ICT education and use can only be effective in local languages. The current presentation highlights a recent project to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the significance of the language factor in ICT education in rural public schools. The results show an overwhelming need to localize ICTs and training to develop an inclusive knowledge society in Pakistan.