EQUIP 1 Collaboration with AIR, World Education & KAPE 1 Funded by

Contents 2 1. Cambodian Context 2. Past Efforts to Provide ICT Access 3. The Thin Client Solution 4. Future Challenges

The Cambodian Context: Educational System 3 Enrolment at Primary School Level is 92% Enrolment at Lower Secondary School Level is only 33% suggesting a very large rate of dropout after primary school At Lower Secondary School Level, Net enrolment at urban level is 53% but only 33% in rural areas, suggesting a big divide between town and countryside

School Infrastructure and Facilities 4 Most lower secondary schools in Cambodia have no access to electricity Although schools have recently received operating budgets, these come irregularly and are very restrictive in how they can be used

Access to Information Technology in Cambodian Schools 5 Of the 1,112 lower secondary schools in Cambodia, fewer than 1% have access to ICT For the 1% that do have access to ICT, the primary funding source has been private (mainly organizations and philanthropists) Cambodian schools lack ICT facilities for many reasons including lack of investment, little access to electricity, and lack of human resources

Cambodian Government Policy & Information Technology 6 The Ministry of Education has a desire to bring Cambodia into the Information Age There is currently a policy in place to provide ICT access to all lower secondary school by 2015 This will require an increase in access of 9,900% over the next six years There is little hope that this grand target can be achieved under the current situation, even with a very large amount of investment

Past Efforts to Provide IT Access to Cambodian Schools 7 Past efforts have focused mainly on secondary school level, not primary There have been two competing models for ICT access. These include: One Laptop per child approaches Computer Lab Provisions

A Tale of Two Models 8 Has not worked well because: Maintenance has been difficult Students have no way to charge the computers Managing hundreds of units is an administrative nightmare This model seems to be wining out in Cambodia because: There are fewer management units to administer and oversee Energy needs are more manageable Less maintenance involved One Laptop per ChildComputer Lab Provisions

But... There have still been problems 9 Maintenance of Labs with only 15 computers is still human resource intensive Schools have no money for electricity or fuel Upgrading is expensive and time consuming Investment costs for equipment & generators are still high Local management issues

Case Study: The Lab that Failed 10 Date established: 2003 Total investment: $15000 Non-Functioning computer: 50% Current status: closed because school owes $500 to electric utility

The Thin Client Solution 11 Thin clients are not a new technology They have been around for a long time But advances in personal computers have enabled them to be re-applied in new contexts They address many of the problems with labs mentioned earlier

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Future Challenges 13 Availability and Modes of Procurement Training Requirements and Capacity Building Software Requirements and Compatibility Finding the Investment Funds for Solar

More Information 14 Thank You!