The Mirror, Vol. 11, No. 522
“Phnom Penh: The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MoEYS) and the Open Institute (a local non-government organization) signed an agreement to develop the human resources structure of the MoEYS for training in the use of Information and Communication Technology [ICT] in the education system.
“The agreement includes also the creation of ICT programs for high schools and universities, and research on the selection of the most appropriate ICT technologies to be used. The most important element are the arrangements for the drafting of a Master Plan for ICT in Education, to systematically guide the progress towards the integration of educational technologies with all sectors of teaching, learning, and management in schools during the next five to seven years.
“According to the press release, this effort, called the Open Schools Program, integrates policies and experiences of the MoEYS and important skills of the Open Institute, as well as the experiences of the cooperating group members.
“The Khmer computer project KhmerOS is a project under the coordination of the Open Institute, which has created and tested Khmer language computer software in different professional and school environments for four years. The Open Institute operates also another project, called the Open Learning Project, which will create the tools and the Khmer language skills for distance learning.
“The Open Schools Program’s main focus is on the effectiveness and the sustainability of ICT education in Cambodia. The technology and the ideas that will be tested before the implementation of the Master Plan for ICT in Education are centered on the use of Khmer language computer programs (instead of English language programs) for the use of ICT in education, the use of low-priced computers with a low consumption of electricity, which generally means to find solutions which are sustainable over a long time, and programs that can support different operational systems that guarantee that the systems can also use higher-priced computers. One part of this work is the training of all ITC teachers also in computer maintenance, to have a first level of computer support even in schools in remote areas.
“At the signing ceremony, Dr. Kol Pheng, Senior Minister and Minister of Education, Youth and Sports, recalled the recent report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) with came to the conclusion, ‘Unless the Least Developed Countries adopt policies to stimulate technological catch-up with the rest of the world, they will continue to fall behind other countries technologically, and face deepening marginalization in the global economy.’ [Adding from the MoEYS’s 2005 Policy and Strategies for the use of ICT for Teaching and Learning] ‘A country advances when technology becomes common, and technology only becomes common when it is in the language of the country.’
“Ms. Chim Manavy, the Executive Director of the Open Institute, said in her statement, ‘The Open Schools Program is the result of the efforts of four years in the development of computer programs and training materials in the Khmer language, and it is connected with other projects of the Open Institute, such as Open Learning, Women and ICT, Khmer Language Dictionaries (Lexicography).’
“The first stage of the program receives support from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, from the Spanish cooperation agency Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional, and from Capacity Building International Germany – InWEnt.” Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.6, #1425, 23.8.2007
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Thursday, 23 August 2007
Deum Ampil, Vol.2, #32, 28.8.2007
- In Three Days, 9 People Died and 17 Were Injured in Traffic Accidents in Phnom Penh
Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.6, #1425, 23.8.2007
- Ministry of Education and Open Institute Sign Agreement on Training of Cambodian Teachers in the Use of Information and Communication Technology
- Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Reacts against a Company [“Meilleur Angkor” – actually this is only a decorative script, not the company name, which is Iradium – in France] That Uses a Picture of Angkor Wat on Its Phone Cards
Khmer Mchas Srok, Vol.1, #9, 23.8.2007
- There Will Be 7,000 People to Attend Sam Rainsy Party Congress on 8-9 September 2007
Koh Santepheap, Vol.40, #6125, 23.8.2007
- US Aid for Neutralizing Substances for Producing Drugs Increases to $140,000
- Sam Rainsy Party Plans to Hold Congress Next Month, and Asks National Election Committee to Retain Some Voter Names [which have been eliminated]
Moneaksekar Khmer, Vol.14, #3244, 23.8.2007
- Mr. Sam Rainsy Asks Im Soursdey [President of National Election Committee] to Retain Voters’ Names in Some Provinces
- There Will Be Big Corruption in Implementation of New Traffic Law
Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.15, #4370, 23.8.2007
- Stung Saen River Water Level Doesn’t Go Down; Tens of Thousands of Hectares of Rice Destroyed [by flood water – Kompong Thom]
Samleng Yuvachun Khmer, Vol.14, #3119, 23.8.2007
- A Medium Should Be Consulted to Evoke Spirit of Oum Chhay [an advisor of National Assembly President Heng Samrin, who was arrested for involvement in drugs, and is reported to have committed suicide] to State Whether He Really Jumped Down from the Building to Commit Suicide
Sralanh Khmer, Vol.3, #485, 32.8.2007
- Oum Chhay Had More Than $50 Million in Banks, and Many Pieces of Land
- Hor Namhong Asks Khmer Embassy in France to Protest against Iradium Company Which Uses [picture] of Khmer Angkor Wat [on its phone cards]
- Father of Tim Sakhan [who has recently been defrocked on accusation of perpetrating an offense against the Buddhist law, because he is accused to have destroyed the harmony between Vietnam and Cambodia, now jailed in Vietnam] Says Tim Sakhan Has Khmer Nationality; Cambodian Watchdog Council Threatens to Hold Demonstration
- Funcinpec Officials Ask Nhek Bun Chhay [Funcinpec Secretary-General] to Resign [because of his former advisor Chea Chung’s involvement in drugs in Kompong Speu – according to an unnamed Funcinpec official]
