Mobilink, UNESCO launch literacy programme
Staff Reporter
Tuesday, June 19, 2012 - Lahore—Mobilink has partnered with UNESCO to launch the third phase of the ‘Mobile Based Literacy’ program - A broad based initiative continuing since the year 2009. The program is a unique initiative that utilizes mobile technology to improve literacy for female students, aged 15 to 25 years, in rural and deprived areas.
The ‘Mobile Based Literacy’ program is an evolution of the previous ‘SMS for Literacy’ program, with the third phase of the project designed to use the mobile phone both for learning and communication between the teachers & students, as well as teachers & supervisors.
In the third phase of the program 2500 students will be given basic literacy skills through by communicating with teachers through SMS based interactive lessons. As a value addition the third phase will also enable 100 participating teachers to coordinate with supervisors and report on student progress via data enabled SIMs provided by Mobilink. The current phase also extends th outreach of the program, reaching out to learners in KPK and Punjab through 100 learning centers.
Jahanzeb Taj, Vice-President Marketing, Mobilink, highlighted, “ICT provides some of the most powerful methods to help us in our efforts to eradicate illiteracy in Pakistan. The Mobile Base Learning program uses the cell-phone as a learning tool and has been designed to take advantage of Mobilink’s extensive penetration amongst the Pakistani population. The earlier phases provided great results, reaching out to 1500 female students and I look forward to this program having an even greater impact in the third phase.”
Dr. Kozue Kay Nagata, Director & Country Representative UNESCO added “3 years back UNESCO started piloting mobile literacy project, and through that small project we have expanded the use of mobile phones for more than communication, now its also an active tool of information, education and knowledge in Pakistan. We find this collaboration between public- private partnerships extremely important. Through this project UNESCO has made 1500 adult female not just literate but also made them connected to the world and empowered them to a degree where they feel empowered citizens, which we count as great achievement.”
The ‘Mobile Based Literacy’ program is an evolution of the previous ‘SMS for Literacy’ program, with the third phase of the project designed to use the mobile phone both for learning and communication between the teachers & students, as well as teachers & supervisors.
In the third phase of the program 2500 students will be given basic literacy skills through by communicating with teachers through SMS based interactive lessons. As a value addition the third phase will also enable 100 participating teachers to coordinate with supervisors and report on student progress via data enabled SIMs provided by Mobilink. The current phase also extends th outreach of the program, reaching out to learners in KPK and Punjab through 100 learning centers.
Jahanzeb Taj, Vice-President Marketing, Mobilink, highlighted, “ICT provides some of the most powerful methods to help us in our efforts to eradicate illiteracy in Pakistan. The Mobile Base Learning program uses the cell-phone as a learning tool and has been designed to take advantage of Mobilink’s extensive penetration amongst the Pakistani population. The earlier phases provided great results, reaching out to 1500 female students and I look forward to this program having an even greater impact in the third phase.”
Dr. Kozue Kay Nagata, Director & Country Representative UNESCO added “3 years back UNESCO started piloting mobile literacy project, and through that small project we have expanded the use of mobile phones for more than communication, now its also an active tool of information, education and knowledge in Pakistan. We find this collaboration between public- private partnerships extremely important. Through this project UNESCO has made 1500 adult female not just literate but also made them connected to the world and empowered them to a degree where they feel empowered citizens, which we count as great achievement.”
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