Transforming education: the power of ICT policies - Commonwealth ...

as manufactured goods. It also has a strong service industry in the areas of oil processing, transportation, banking,
and fi nancial services, and sees its future tied to the development of a knowledge economy. Singapore has been
ranked one of the top ten countries on global competitiveness.
The country gained its independence in 1965 and one party has been in political power since independence. This
offers great political stability and to a certain extent, enables a continuity of government policies. This stability
enables a continuation of a number of education, social and health initiatives to spread over a number of years.
Singapore is ranked 15 th in the world, based on ICT development index. Since 1990, the country has had national
ICT master plans for the development of IT infrastructure, services, products, and employment. The Master plans
set directions in the use of IT for business, e-government, and education. In their latest ICT infrastructure plan,
there will be fi bre-optic connections to all homes, schools and businesses. This high-speed broadband network will
promote digital media and bio-informatics and will benefi t industries, fi nance, banking, and media services.
Singapore has a national education policy but with variations in the curriculum to cater to different needs and
abilities of students. It has a bilingual education where English is used as the medium of instruction with their
mother tongue as a second language. There are a number of initiatives to improve the education system and these
are strongly linked to it economic development policies. Among the most important education initiatives are the
three ICT in education master plans to leverage on the use of technology for administration, teaching and learning.
Uruguay
The country has a prominent situation among Latin American countries in economic and human–social
development. The country’s main economic activity is centred on export-oriented agricultural sector and services.
In addition, Uruguay has a well-developed service industry with a highly trained workforce. The county has a high
literacy rate and the government has instituted a social security system with even distribution of income and
a large middle-income population. For Uruguay, there were many national-level policies, directions and plans
and some of these were personally led by the President. For example, Plan Ceibal was launched by the President,
showing political support at the highest level from the government.
Uruguay has a high proportion of people living in urban areas, making it easier to build ICT infrastructure.
Consequently, Uruguay has a high penetration rate of ICT compared to other countries in the region. It has the
highest number of landline telephones among the Latin America countries. As a result of several ICT policy
initiatives and implementation, the country has developed a vibrant ICT industry. In 2000, the National Committee
for Information Society was set up under the President and, in 2005, a new national Technology Development Plan
was launched. It focused on two areas – promote the use of technology among the citizens and to improve research
and development in ICT. In 2008, the second part of the technology plan was launched and it focused on business,
science and technology services, and innovation. The government is also providing funds for the use of ICT to tackle
social issues, poverty reduction, and environment protection.
Uruguay has a strong education system and has instituted compulsory education for all children from 5–14 years.
The enrolment rates are above the Latin America countries average and they have the highest literacy rate (98%)
among the countries in the region. The government has implemented many initiatives to develop new and integrated
curriculum, reduce dropout rates, invest in school infrastructure, provide more support staff in libraries and labs,
improve student learning outcomes.
Jordan
Jordan is one of the smallest and poorest economies in the Middle East ,and the country faces a number of regional
political and security issues. It has limited natural resources and depends on the development of human resources
Using ICT Policy to Transform Education | 201