The Jordanian education ministry signed a $33 million contract with “one local and one Spanish firm” to supply the ministry with around 20,000 computers, Education Minister Khalid Touqan said on Thursday. Touqan said 22 computers (two for the school administration) and a server to connect the school with a local area network will be installed in 900 of the Kingdom's public schools. According to Touqan, the computers would be installed within six months.
The ministry's ambitious and wide-scale program to introduce computers and computer-based learning in all government schools, in pursuance of King Abdullah's directives, will be implemented over a period of three years. “We have started the implementation phase and we are proceeding according to schedule,” said Touqan.
Latest ministry statistics show that 500 of the Kingdom's 4,000 schools are already connected, but at least 200 schools have computer labs with outdated computers that cannot run new software.
The ministry estimates the number of outdated computers at 5,000, and says it will upgrade these computers with a special software program to enable them to run word processing, database and Internet software. — ( Jordan Times )
Oula Al Farawati
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
