The Sindh government has signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to partner with Google to enable teachers and students of government-run schools in the province learn about computers and the Internet.
The MoUs were signed by the Secretary of Sindh government’s Information, Science & Technology Department, Asif Ikram, Secretary of provincial School Education Department, Ghulam Akbar Laghari, and the CEO of Tech Valley Umar Farooq. Tech Valley is a local non-governmental organisation, and being the partner agency of Google in the country will conduct the training sessions.
In the first phase, 250 students and 100 teachers of five government-run schools will be given computer training. Fifty students and 20 teachers of each school will learn about computers. The training will be given under Google’s CS (Computer Science) First and Be Internet Awesome programmes.
After completion of the first phase, more government-run schools will be selected for computer training.
Both the Education and IT Departments of the Sindh government will ensure that fully functional computer laboratories that are properly equipped are present in the selected schools to execute the training sessions.
The agreements also stand for the provision of Google cloud platforms for modernising urban flooding and disaster management services of the Sindh government. The agreements will remain valid for one year.
Speaking on the occasion, Sindh Chief Secretary, Dr Mohammad Sohail Rajput, who earlier served as Federal IT Secretary, said the MoUs had been signed to fulfil the Sindh government’s commitment to promoting computer science education in the province among all students.
He said the Sindh government would collaborate with the partner organisations to organise boot camps, skill development courses and workshops to promote IT education in the province. He said that projects had been conceived to establish IT parks in different cities of the province.
The Tech Valley CEO said Google had the fullest resolve to partner with the government in Pakistan to conduct IT courses in educational institutions.