ISLAMABAD: Google and Pakistan’s education ministry declared on Thursday that they were collaborating to create smart schools, digitally alter Pakistan’s educational system, and give millions of children nationwide access to education.
There are 26.2 million out-of-school children in Pakistan, which is the second-highest number in the world.In an effort to guarantee these children’s access to education and enhance their educational possibilities, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued a national emergency declaration last month.PM Shehbaz Sharif met with a high-level Google for Education team on Thursday in Islamabad, which was led by Kevin Kells, the company’s managing director.
Google’s partnership with the Ministry of Federal Education “aims to drive a large-scale digital transformation of Pakistan’s education system, creating smart classrooms and fostering a healthy learning ecosystem.”
According to the official media, Google will collaborate with the Pakistani government to set up a local assembly of more than 500,000 Chromebooks by 2026 through Tech Valley, a country partner for Google for Education. Additionally, it would allow Pakistani teachers and students access to digital tools and resources.
Chromebooks are a kind of laptop or tablet that are less expensive than standard laptops and run Google’s Chrome OS operating system.”Allied, an Australian Google Chromebook manufacturer, will set up an assembly line in Pakistan as part of the agreement to locally assemble Google Chromebooks, making them more cheap for educational purposes,”
It stated that the purpose of this kind of arrangement is to guarantee that all students across the nation have access to “state-of-the-art instructional technology” in order to improve their educational experience.The agreement said that the teachers would receive training on how to create and implement cutting-edge technology-enhanced learning programs, as well as how to use technology in the classroom.
Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Pakistan’s Minister of school, hailed the move and said it was a critical step toward guaranteeing children’s access to school.He stated, “We think technology can be extremely important in enhancing learning outcomes and preparing our students for the future.”
According to Farhan S. Qureshi, country director of Google Pakistan, giving Pakistani kids access to digital tools will help them become acclimated to the digital economy.Qureshi added, “This will also help Pakistan’s manufacturing industry grow and attract more investments in technology by creating a local assembly of over 500,000 Chromebooks.”
