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Illiteracy Eradication
- Integrating ICT into Education – The
Smart Schools Network
- e-Learning
- Provision of ICT Training to All
- Women in ICT
‘Information and Communications Technology can contribute to achieving
universal education worldwide, through delivery of education and trained
teachers, and offering improved conditions for lifelong learning, encompassing
people that are outside the formal education process, and improving
professional skills.’
WSIS Plan of Action, December 2003
Capacity Building focus on developing a dynamic education and human resource
development system that ensures the creation of a well trained and globally
competitive workforce. Well-trained individuals have the opportunity to become
entrepreneurs driving a free market forward.
Human capital is Egypt’s best resource with a large talented well educated
workforce. Over 50 percent of Egypt’s population is under the age of twenty
five. This workforce becomes very attractive for offshore development
activities, since it is considered to have profound technical knowledge with a
competitive cost. Extensive professional training programmes have graduated
abundant talents in various sectors.
The government has also made a strong commitment to invest in education and to
ensure today’s students receive an education that will equip them to integrate
in the Information Society. These students must be taught the skills and obtain
the necessary familiarity with the technologies that will allow them to compete
within the world markets. MCIT is emphasising in its overall strategy the need
to develop basic, professional, and applied ICT education and training. All
capacity building elements are intrinsically linked and designed to complement
each other.
Illiteracy Eradication
illiteracy rates are unfortunately still high in Egypt at more than 30
percent of the population with higher rates for women as a result of
socio-economic and cultural factors. Literacy rates reflect the extent of
access to various sources of knowledge, and to a certain degree, the ability of
individuals to participate effectively in society at all levels.
The main objective of the Illiteracy Eradication initiative is to produce
electronic, efficient, and simple content for teaching Arabic words,
characters, and elementary mathematics. It is intended to make the content
available to the populous through IT Clubs, the Internet, and CD media. The
following has been implemented to move the project forward.
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- Development of appropriate generic content in cooperation with the General
Authority for literacy and Adult Education (GALAE), and the
National Council
for Women (NCW).
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- Production and continuing development of multimedia and a programme of
dissemination through the Internet and CD media.
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- A Training for Trainers scheme conducted by CD tutorial circulation in
cooperation with GALAE.
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- A pilot course conducted using the CD material produced, making an ongoing
assessment, in cooperation with both the GALAE and NCW.
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- Development of a business model for sustainability.
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The pilot schemes were selected based on local illiteracy rates, availability
of IT Clubs, and supervisory representation in both rural and urban areas.
Principal areas where the scheme is currently in operation are Kalyoubia,
Beheira, Fayoum, and Minya. The Ministry of Local Development has
assisted in the initiative by gathering a database of illiterates including
names, gender, age, and residence.
Integrating ICT into Education – The Smart Schools
Network
The Smart Schools Network Initiative is aimed to ensure that all Egyptian
students have reasonable computer literacy after preparatory school, enabling
them to cope with the requirements of the modern workplace, both in Egypt and
abroad. Although the project is currently only providing partial coverage to
students, it will provide a level of exposure to ICT that will help identify
from an early stage those students that have special aptitude and talent in
this area for further development. This is also an integrated move toward a
global modernisation plan of the Egyptian Schooling System through the
introduction of IT in education. The project will provide a model for
introducing basic computer literacy to preparatory schools (namely levels 7 to
9), and will entail a management unit to provide all the requisite technical
and educational support. The model is initially being piloted in thirty eight
public schools.
Students are being allowed a minimum of four hours per week one to one access,
and teaching is performed in modern classrooms, where material can easily be
presented digitally. Attention is also being paid to the provision of multi
media peripherals such as digital cameras, scanners and sound devices, and a
digital library in each school is provided. The schemes are aiming for a ratio
of one computer per ten students. There is encouragement that after school
hours the centres can function as Internet cafés and business centres for the
local community. The establishment of an internal network connecting the
various departments and computer laboratories inside the school is a primary
aim, along with allowing access by parents, teachers, students, and other
schools, to provide a general forum of operation. The system is being called
the Smart Schools Portal .
The Ministry of Education (MOE) also worked in cooperation
with MCIT in the development of the project. MOE is charged with approving the
participating schools and provides training resources for staff and content for
use in Smart Schools. It is intended for MCIT to provide technical support,
managing the tendering and contractual processes, and providing a supervisory
and evaluating role.
It is hoped that the level of basic ICT awareness will increase rapidly under
the scheme, and that computer literate graduates will be able to progress to
obtaining the International Computer Driving License (ICDL). It will also
encourage students to grasp the concepts of self learning and modern education,
and will aid them to collect further skills. At the same time the Smart Schools
is assisting in some modernisation of the Egyptian schooling system and
providing training for staff. Sustainability sits as an important issue, and
the incentive to financially support the schemes by leasing of the facilities
outside school hours is being encouraged.
The project has been initially implemented in thirteen governorates, with the
primary goal of ensuring that connection to the Internet is first established.
A total of 1200 schools have so far been connected using the Free Internet
service. It is hope that within the next three years that 7,000 schools will be
connected to the Internet by broadband service.
Refer also to Increasing Access with the ICT Trust Fund.
e-Learning
‘Develop domestic policies to ensure that ICTs are fully integrated in
education and training at all levels, including curriculum development, teacher
training, institutional administration, and management, and in support of the
concept of lifelong learning.’
WSIS Plan of Action, December 2003
All citizens should receive a modern, quality education, with access to the
worldwide resources available on the Internet and equal opportunities for
learning should be secured regardless of age, gender, class, or geographical
location. Learning using ICT is characterized by a high level of flexibility
and is open ended, targeting all age brackets, and can be tailored to different
needs. Educational institutions and prospective students must appreciate that
learning does not stop at a certain age or career stage.
e-Learning Concept
Cooperation between private sector education service providers, network
operators, data centres, content providers, Non Governmental Organisations, and
local and international companies and educational institutes is the cornerstone
of this e-Learning. To reach all segments of the population, these
organisations must work closely towards shared goals. New models will be used
to offer e-Learning services through integrated systems. The Education Service
Provider is an example for such models. To remove language barriers, content
providers are being encouraged to provide Arabic educational content in
suitable media and provide such content through specialised e-libraries
nationally and regionally.
Schools can have a natural role as the communities’ focal point for access to
the Information Society by offering programmes such as after school use of
computer labs, Internet access, and training programmes. The e-Learning
initiative will use multiple channels for delivery of educational materials,
including computer based training, the Internet, multimedia, virtual
classrooms, interactive and non interactive TV and more, with choices made by
students based on their needs. The increasing numbers of students in schools
and universities and the resulting pressures on facilities, student-teacher
ratios, class size, and technology require innovative solutions to provide
access.
In order to succeed, programmes must gain the acceptance of students, teachers,
administrators and the community. Diplomas and certificates must have value in
the market in order to remain attractive options for students, and in order to
successfully introduce ICT into the classroom and integrate its use into the
curriculum, there must be a sufficient number of trained instructors.
Measures of learning quality, evaluation and auditing of the teaching process,
development of testing and evaluation mechanisms, certification, accreditation
and equivalency, compliance with international standards and measures to ensure
quality of education must all be developed and monitored for implementation.
The design and development of proper course content, such as course
content-delivery methods, and copyrights, must also be paid attention to.
Schools and universities must also be equipped with the proper equipment and
software and sufficient network configurations and connectivity to implement
their needs.
e-Learning Projects
The e-Learning Competence Centre
The e-Learning Competence Centre (eLCC) initiative between MCIT and Cisco was
set up to create a national e-Learning Programme, establishing an organisation
to lead and coordinate all e-Learning projects in Egypt. The e-Learning
initiative will primarily upgrade the local corporate culture and support the
private sector driven economy. The eLCC will actively take steps to enhance
workforce performance through high quality, practical, state of the art
e-Learning and human resources development activities in accordance with the
government and business communities evolving needs. Initially a network of ten
Competence Centres will be created
eLCC has established working partnerships with private and pubic organisations
to work towards its goals. An agreement has been made, in conjunction with the
Ministry of Higher Education, with Middlesex University in England
to begin using its general curriculum for e-Learning. MCIT has worked in
collaboration with MCIT Jordan in sharing teaching methods and material.
Content has been improved by the adoption of Cisco’s Business Essentials iExec
program. Special projects that have been implemented include Women Empowerment,
ICT Online Training, and Life Long Learning.
The width of delivery of e-Learning projects is being expanded in all sectors.
e-Learning Centres that recently qualified as additional delivery partners were
the Ministry of Internal Trade’s Trade Information Centre in
March 2005, and also Cairo University’s Scientific Computation Centre in April
2005. The potential of further delivery units are being explored with the
Business Advisory Support Unit (BASU), International British Institute (IBI),
ICT Clubs, and applying the e-Learning Centre qualification to SMEs.
Several business oriented conferences and seminars of the eLCC were arranged
during 2005 as listed below.
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eLCC Orientation Seminar for MHE, February 2005
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eLCC Orientation Seminar for SME Training Program, March 2005
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EasyLearning Workshop, March 2005
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Business Advisory Support Unit Annual Conference, April 2005
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eLCC Orientation Workshop for the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce,
April 2005
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eLCC/Cisco Global Empowerment Validation Workshop, June 2005
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eLCC/Cisco Regional Training of Trainers Workshop, June 2005
IT for Illiteracy (CDROM Tutorial for Basic Literacy)
This scheme involves a simple, self based, interactive computer tutorial
requiring minimal input from the student to promote basic literacy, to be
distributed through the IT Club network and other education providers.
The Resala Association is an active NGO working in the field of illiteracy
eradication, and now has several branches across Egypt, and is showing success
in the use of the Illiteracy CD Tutorial media in six of the centres. At
present the association is involved in providing literacy education to two
hundred students. The classes began in March 2005 and by July 2005 had a pass
rate of over 95%. Women who were participating in the project showed their
enthusiasm and interest by their commitment to following classes, and high
scoring in exams.
e-Learning for Children
Providing ICT initiatives at all levels in education is essential. Some schemes
that are being currently encouraged by MCIT and the Ministry of Education
in schools consist of the following:
The iEARN Project – The International Education and Resource Network is a non
profit making concern with over 15,000 member schools in over one hundred
countries. Children and young adults are collaborating on school assignments
using the Internet and other new communication technologies.
The Children’s Library Project – The project was instigated by Bibliotheca
Alexandrina and aims at providing interest in the bookmaking process, including
printing and binding, whilst at the same time encouraging children to gain a
wider literary experience. At the Children’s Library students can select books
online and print them on special printers and binders designed for the project.
The project also has a ‘Research for All’ programme aiming at teaching children
how to source information in a library environment. This includes how to
collect information, provide reference to it, and make presentations of it in
printed or electronic format.
Ministry of Education Projects
Aside from the Smart School Network initiative and the iEARN Project described
above the Ministry of Education is involved with numerous projects within the
e-Learning concept. Further examples are briefly described below.
GLOB - This is an international project that aims to promote
recognition of relevant environmental issues inside and out of schools. It aims
to raise awareness of the environmental changes in the world today, provide
knowledge, and give students a new vision. Students are encouraged to work in
teams within the project.
Think.com - This is an online managed service provided free to
schools, without advertising, for all students and teachers up to the age of
eighteen. The service allows students to create, communicate, and collaborate
online and learn key life skills for the knowledge economy. The ability to link
school to school across local or international borders provides the opportunity
to integrate technology in a meaningful way into curricular work.
Intel® Teach to the Future - This project is a part of the Intel
initiative for creativity in learning, which aims to cooperate in education all
over the world in the fields of engineering, mathematics, science, and
technology learning. The programme began in Egypt in 2004.
The Health Academy - This is a WHO initiative to create a global
health of technology alliance, providing health information to the general
public for the purpose health improvement. The age group targeted is between
eight and twenty five years, with information available on major health issues,
disease prevention, and health promotion, in easily grasped and culturally
sensitive terms.
Virtual Egyptian Chinese School Project - Both countries agreed on
starting a project to teach the Arabic language to a selected group of students
in China and the Chinese language to students in Egypt through distant
learning.
Microsoft Unlimited Potential - Microsoft Unlimited Potential (UP) is
a global initiative designed to help narrow the technology skills gap and aid
global workforce development. This is being achieved by providing technology
skills through Community Based Technology and Learning Centres. The project was
launched in June 2004, with the Ministry of Education signing an agreement with
MCIT and Microsoft to train 6000 students.
Provision of ICT Training to All
There remains a large number of graduates who have not been adequately
prepared to use ICT in their fields of study, and it is evident that many
university graduates need to keep up with the newly introduced technologies.
MCIT initiated a number of training programmes to familiarise graduates with
the use of computers, which would then help them get better jobs. Egypt has put
ICT training at the top of its agenda by including it in its National Plan, and
the government has developed training programmes and formed partnerships with
training institutes to maximise development in ICT capabilities. The success of
ICT learning is its flexibility in allowing any age or social group to access
schemes and careers so that true added value can be realised in national
development.
The Basic Skills Development
Training Programme
The Basic Skills Development Training Programme (BSDTP) was established in 2000
in cooperation with universities and research centres, involving mainly
university professors in the improvement of trainee’s educational base. The
BDTP is a highly focused, ‘hands on’ quality education with a low staff to
student ratio with PC training being usually on a one to one basis. The
programme is provided in one hundred and seventy two centres across Egypt, of
which twenty one are within Cairo University. The BDTP course is carried over a
three month period with three hundred and sixty hours of instruction, a third
of which is dedicated to laboratory time with no more than twenty students in
each session. Students are encouraged to work in teams and to adopt creative
and innovative project ideas with value to the industry.
Currently the target group for the BDTP is unemployed fresh university
graduates and high school diploma holders, who are encouraged to participate in
the course which is offered free of charge. Additionally students receive a
monthly bursary, which is not intended as a salary over the course of the
programme. It is encouraging to see that more than 101,000 candidates have now
successfully completed the BDTP. MCIT is clear to stress to participants that
the scheme does not offer a guarantee for employment, but a solid foundation
for their integration into Egypt’s Information Society.
The International Computer Driver’s
License (ICDL)
Students who excel in the basic programme are given the opportunity for an
additional one hundred hours of instruction in one of the UNESCO accredited
training centres to receive the International Computer Driving License (ICDL).
The ICDL is as international certificate, which demonstrates a person’s
competence in computing knowledge and skills in accordance with international
standards. Admission to the extra training to receive ICDL is not restricted to
the Basic Skills Development Training Programme graduates. Direct admission can
be gained through high performance in aptitude testing.
Receiving the ICDL provides most people all the computer training they will
require in order to work in the majority of government and private sector jobs.
The ICDL syllabus is designed and regularly updated by a panel of experts to
ensure relevance to the marketplace and advances in technology. The primary
syllabus addresses the concept and application of computing, and at the same
time its placement in a changing working culture. There are seven modules
within the programme of which candidates must demonstrate knowledge of each to
gain the qualification.
Specialised Training Programmes
The Specialised Training Programme is an intensive human resource development
programme to facilitate the development of IT and communication specialists.
Participants in the programme are exposed to current, state of the art
technologies and knowledge within the ICT industry. MCIT provides substantial
funds to support the programme. The project is implemented in conjunction with
multinational IT companies.
There are two main sectors within the Specialised Training Programme which are
the Super User Programme (application oriented) and Professional Training
Programme (programming oriented).
Super User Programme
The aim of the Super User Programme is to prepare a generation equipped with
the skills to use IT applications in the various aspects of their lives.
Applications are made available for different uses and fields, for instance,
legislation, judiciary, medical, and business as examples. The programme
centres around training in the following fields:
- Microsoft Office administration
- Maintenance and repair
- Graphics and multimedia
- Contact Centre training
Candidates are expected to be professionals in their various fields who want to
learn how to use software and IT applications specific to their industry.
Participants receive three hundred hours of specialised training ending with
exams in English. Companies specialising in different commercial fields provide
the training and the certification associated with the Super User Programme.
SUP students receive monthly financial assistance over the length of the
course. As an initial step forward, MCIT decided to enlist fresh university
graduates to become IT Developers and Application Specialists.
Currently, the Super User Programme offers two certified ‘tracks’ of study. The
first is the Office Administration Track, which provides Microsoft Office
Specialty (MOS) including IT administration skills that are common in most
corporations. The second is the Maintenance and Repair Track which concentrates
on hardware and networking skills. Multimedia, security and financial
applications will be developed as additions in the near future.
Contact Centre Training
Accepting at least eight hundred students a year and supported by a 5 million
Egyptian Pounds budget, the Contact Centres training programme is now a
significant operation. The creation of Contact Centres was initiated to provide
international quality training for Contact Centre agents, supervisors, and
other personnel. Trainees receive training in the English language,
enunciation, and customer service. Additionally the government aims to foster
Contact Centre export potential through its focus on computers, language,
marketing, and communication skills. At the end of each two month programme
successful participants receive an internationally recognised certificate as
proof of their achievements.
Professional Training Programme
The Professional Training Programme is divided into the two tracks of the IT
Specialists Training Programme and the Telecommunications Programme as
described below. Trainees that have passed through the Professional Training
Programmes currently number over 22,000, and it is hoped that by mid 2007
levels will reach 37,000.
IT Specialists Training Program
This training programme focuses on the development of software applications and
is offered in over forty training centres. Course involve real life practical
projects and are operated by a range of major private organisations and
companies including IBM, ICL, Orascom, and the Arab Academy for Science,
Technology, and Marine Transport. The specialised fields which are offered are
listed as follows:
- Software development
- Databases
- Web development
- Graphics and multimedia
- Networking
- Software engineering quality
The IT Specialists Training Programme lasts six months, after which successful
participants receive an internationally recognised certificate in their field
of specialisation. In 2005, the programme entered a new phase, which introduced
a longer term of nine months, a new focused syllabus, new software and language
training, and three month work experience opportunities for selected graduates.
Telecommunications Programme (Communication and Networking)
The Telecommunications Programme is intended for engineers in the fields of
electronics, computers, communications, computer science and the like.
Candidates typically enrolling would have earned their bachelor degree within
the past three years. The programme is aimed at placing graduates in positions
managing technology for Internet Service Provider (ISPs) and telecom companies,
as well as computer programmers. The course lasts for between three to eight
weeks taking place at the National Telecommunications Institute (NTI), which
acts as the host as well as the Quality Assurance body. Students are asked to
select one training provider from Cisco, Hewlett Packard, Nortel, Ericsson,
Lucent, Egti-Siemens, Huawei, AlcaTel, and ZTE. These training providers are
committed to employing 70 percent of those trained.
Upon completion of the course, students receive a certificate of completion.
Interested candidates fill an application online on the
MCIT website at ptrain to choose the relevant course and also to read
all the related topics regarding the Communication and Networking section.
The National Telecommunication Institute
The National Telecommunication Institute (NTI) was established in 1984 and
plays a key role as a centre for ICT training in Egypt. It has become a focal
point for the field of modern telecommunications. The research and training
services also support the telecommunication sectors across the Arab world, and
pay particular attention to keeping pace with the advancements in ICT. NTI has
become a Certified Cisco Regional Academy and a Certified Huawei Training
Centre addressing training in areas like wireless technology, fibre optic
cabling, and networking as examples. In addition to this, partnerships in
training have been formed with companies such as Siemens, Nortel, Alcatel, ZTE,
Lucent, and Ericsson.
The Information Technology Institute
The Information Technology Institute (ITI), which began its work in 1993, is
now considered a national hub for implementation of the government’s IT
training programmes. Approximately 2500 students per year graduate from the
institute, as well as international schemes for students to obtain specialized
degrees, PhDs and MScs. ITI developed six academic paths in cooperation with
six distinguished universities in Europe and North America. Successful
participants in these programs obtain a masters of science degree or a
doctorate degree from the university in connection with ITI. The institute
serves to implement the government’s Basic Training Program in fifty three of
its centres all over Egypt.
The Regional Information Technology Institute
The Regional Information Technology Institute (RITI) was established in 1992 as
the training and professional development subsidiary of the Regional
Information Technology and Software Engineering Centre (RITSEC). Established
with the aim of serving as a centre of excellence in human resource development
in the Arab region, the institute’s mission is to design and deliver
professional degree and non-degree programs in business management and
information technology. Over the past decade, RITI has continued to grow and
develop a reputation on the local and international levels for excellence in
the delivery of quality IT training.
Through the formulation of a number of key international alliances and
partnerships, RITI has many channels through which it provides academic degree
programs, executive development, and IT certified programs. Since its
inception, RITI has delivered more than 1007 programs conducted with 11,792
participants trained from over 900 national and international organisations.
Approximately 40 percent of those programs are tailor made to client
requirements.
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Women in ICT
The government is now ensuring that Egyptian women play a key role in the
development of the ICT sector. An overview can be gained by studying the
statistics of ICT higher and postgraduate education and the ICT professional
environment that women work within. The following is based on factual
statistics at a number of universities and some public and private ICT
organizations.
In the past year, the number of female university graduates exceeded the number
of male ones in some universities such as those of Alexandria and Suez Canal.
The percentage of female engineering graduates ranged from a substantial 44 to
49 percent of the total percentage of engineering graduates. The demographic
statistics of these governorates showed that the male population in the sample
age range was generally higher than the female.
In southern Egypt, the development of the employment market and equal
opportunities resulted in a satisfactory percentage of university female
graduates reaching 38 to 44 percent, out of which approximately 25 percent were
engineering graduates. It is estimated that 30 percent of the total number of
female university students belong to ICT faculties. It appeared that the rate
of women joining ICT university departments is generally increasing, especially
in Minufiya University where the induction rate increased from 17 percent in
1998/1999 to 25 percent in 2003/2004.
The number of female students enrolling in postgraduate programs at Cairo and
Alexandria Universities has grown dramatically. The rate of females obtaining
Masters of Science qualifications in the ICT field from Cairo University ranged
from 16 percent of the total number in 1998/1999 to 18 percent in 2002/2003.
These rates are close to those of females who are enrolled in Master of Arts
Programmes, which show an encouraging continuing commitment towards ICT
postgraduate studies despite the social obstacles that women have traditionally
faced. The percentage of female engineers who applied for High Diplomas in ICT
also increased from 10 percent in 2001/2002 to 30 percent in 2002/2003.
Female Employment in ICT
The sectors where women have seen the most improvement in their working culture
and opportunities have tended to be within the larger organisations, both
public and private, including the academic institutions. Telecom Egypt has seen
a steady increase in its qualified women engineers in the last five years. Also
the number of women holding leadership positions was also continuously rising
in this time except for the year 2001 as many of them reached the retirement
age. The National Telecom Institute showed that the percentage of women
engineers ranges between 64 to 68 percent out of the total number. Within its
academic positions more women continue to occupy departmental leadership
positions.
MobiNil witnessed a remarkable increase in the number of women engineers
between 2002 and 2003.The percentage of women working for the different company
departments ranges from 35 percent to 38 percent, including women who held non
engineering posts.
The tables below illustrate the trend for education and employment of women in
the ICT industry.
Table 5.1: Analysis of the number of Egyptian female graduates to 2001
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Cairo
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Alexandria
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Minufiya
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Suez
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Minya
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Asyut
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| All faculties 2000/2001
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49.8%
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55.6%
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45.2%
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54.5%
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41.5%
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38.5%
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| Faculties of engineering 2000/2001
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26.8%
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28.7%
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22.4%
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36.9%
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27.1%
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27.0%
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| All faculties 1998/1999
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48.0%
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52.8%
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46.3%
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56.7%
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44.4%
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39.2%
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| Faculties of engineering 1998/1999
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27.9%
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32.6%
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19.8%
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39.6%
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24.7%
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26.0%
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Table 5.2: Percentage of female ICT graduates from Egyptian universities
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1998/99
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1999/00
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2000/01
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2001/02
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2002/03
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| Cairo University
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22.6%
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25.0%
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25.6%
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22.5%
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24.3%
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| Alexandria University
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32.5%
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34.9%
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22.3%
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23.9%
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24.8%
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| Asyut University
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12.8%
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7.8%
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23.9%
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17.0%
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15.4%
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| Minufiya University
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22.0%
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25.7%
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23.6%
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24.9%
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28.2%
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Table 5.3: Percentage of female engineers to male
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1998/99
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1999/00
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2000/01
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2001/02
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2002/03
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| All specialities
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19%
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16%
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10%
|
15%
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15%
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| ICT engineers
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16%
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15%
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8.5%
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14%
|
9%
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| Customer support
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14%
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47%
|
55%
|
62%
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52%
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ICT Projects for Women
Support Centre for Women in Small and Medium Enterprises
The National Council for Women and USAID have financed the establishment of the
Support Centre for Women in Small and Medium Enterprises. This is intended to
support and develop management, research, marketing, and accounting skills of
women wanting to establish small business projects. This centre has hosted a
number of seminars and training sessions that targeted a total of 1311 women so
far. These included university graduates, project owners, employees, and those
holding the qualification of Certified Internet Webmasters Microsoft Certified
System Administrator.
Support Centre for Women in Small and Medium Enterprises
The National Council for Women and USAID have financed the establishment of the
Support Centre for Women in Small and Medium Enterprises. This is intended to
support and develop management, research, marketing, and accounting skills of
women wanting to establish small business projects. This centre has hosted a
number of seminars and training sessions that targeted a total of 1311 women so
far. These included university graduates, project owners, employees, and those
holding the qualification of Certified Internet Webmasters Microsoft Certified
System Administrator.
e-Commerce Support Centre
The National Council for Women signed an agreement supporting an e-Commerce and
IT project, funded by USAID. In cooperation with the Scientific Authority for
Egyptian Women, the council is carrying out a project aiming to help equip
female SME owners with the necessary skills. In addition to this the scheme is
offering guidance in making catalogues and websites to display their products
to utilize e-Commerce in increasing local and international sales.
Digitising Egyptian Women's Legal Rights
The UNDP and Information and Communication Technology for Development in the
Arab Region (ICTDAR), with funding from the EU, have launched a regional
project for women's rights in Egypt, Lebanon, and Tunisia. The project aims to
automate data retrieval and create a database of information which will help
women know their rights. The project will provide answers regarding women's
social status with regards to dowry, divorce, marriage, and custody rights in a
simple form of questions and answers on CDs, video cassettes, or on the
Internet in Arabic. This service will be available from centres and clubs for
women that are affiliated with the different ministries across the country, as
well as at civil associations dealing with women's rights.
IBM Occupational Training Centres
An agreement was signed between the National Council for Women and IBM in early
2004 to establish a regional centre for occupational training for women. A
total of twenty computers and two servers have been delivered to the centre so
far, providing technical assistance in shifting to use e-Government. The
project also aims at developing the council's website by providing technical
advice, electronic translations, and a security system along with services for
women on the website.
In establishing a documentation centre where information and research on women
will be compiled, a geographic information system (GIS) is planned to provide
information on women with regards to education and illiteracy, political
participation, and registering for voting and social security. A database is
also currently being compiled at the National Administrative Authority of all
women in senior managerial positions.
An electronic archive will also be created, saving information on a central
computer to protect it from destruction and loss and making its retrieval
easier. The operating systems of the National Council for Women departments
have been analyzed and 12,000 files and 500 pictures have been uploaded so far.
Introduction
The
Foundation for the Information Society
e-Access
Innovation
Capacity Building
Enabling
Environment
Industry
Development
ICT
Applications: Benefits in All Aspects of Life
International and Regional Cooperation
Conclusion
References
Appendix
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