Page 50 - SAMENA Trends - May 2020

REGIONAL & MEMBERS UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Morocco Launches Survey on E-education

The Moroccan ministry of education has to improve further online learning in the “Athaqafia” and “Laayoune TV” broadcast
launched a survey for students, parents country, says a press release issued by daily courses for pupils and students of
and teachers to get their feedback on the ministry. Some 600,000 Moroccan various levels including the baccalaureate
e-learning and assess this experience after primary and secondary schools students curriculum. According to some experts,
it decided to close schools, universities… log on daily to TelmidTICE website, which online education can close the digital
and shift courses online to curb the spread is offering over 3000 courses covering a divide and open up greater opportunities
of COVID-19 pandemic. The opinion poll wide variety of subjects including science, for all learners who can easily access their
seeks to shed light on the positive and mathematics… To enable students in rural courses from their homes.
negative aspects of remote education and zones continue their education during
review the achievements accomplished coronavirus lockdown, local TV channels

Oman Demonstrates Exemplary ICT Usage

Oman has recently witnessed a noticeable use of information and communication namely: the possession of smart TV 47%,
increase in social media use and use of technologies during the past three smart watches 18%, smart cameras 14%
the Internet for research, doing business months, such as the Internet, the type of and smart printers 14%.
and obtaining information and services. activities carried out online, the skills of ICT Use
The survey, ‘Measuring the Access to and using information and communication The results of the survey show that the
Use of ICT by Households and Individuals technologies and social media, as well as percentage of individuals owning mobile
2020’, reveals that WhatsApp app came finding the most important reasons for not phones reached 97%, and the percentage
first (92%) in terms of usage, followed by using the Internet. of people owning smartphones was 94%.
YouTube with 81%, Facebook with 56%, Access With regard to the use of information
Imo 47% and Instagram 44%, while the The most important indicators of access and communication technologies by
use of Twitter reached 25%, followed to information and communication individuals during the three months prior
by Snapchat by 24%. The Ministry of technologies by the household sector are to conducting the survey, some indicators
Technology and Communications (MTC) household possession of smartphones, witnessed an increase compared to the
and the National Center for Statistics and which reached 95%, in addition to household results of the survey conducted in 2019,
Information (NCSI) announced the results access to the Internet, which reached 94%, as this year, the percentage of individuals
of the 2020 survey which was carried out while household possession of computers using the Internet increased to 95% of the
during the period of February 9- 20 with (including smartphones) reached 96%. total population compared to 92% in 2019.
the aim of providing the required data for All these indicators witnessed a slight In addition, the percentage of individuals
decision makers to formulate the related decrease by 1% compared to the results using computers (including smartphone)
policies and updating Oman indicators of 2019. This year, the survey included increased to 95% in 2020 compared to 93%
in the international databases, e.g. ITU, measuring new indicators that were not in 2019. The results of the 2020 survey
UNDESA and ESCWA. included in the previous survey in 2019, indicated that there has been a noticeable
Methodology
The survey was conducted by the NCSI Call
Center through telephone interviews on a
sample of 2,612 individuals 18 years and
above, representing all governorates of the
sultanate, as the Omanis comprised 44%
and expats 56%.The survey questionnaire
was designed according to the international
standards and definitions related to ICT
indicators. The survey questionnaire
was divided into two main parts, the first
part focused on measuring household
access to information and communication
technologies such as Internet, mobile
and smart devices, while the second
part focused on measuring individuals’

50 MAY 2020