Even though a select few universities have wholeheartedly embraced information technology and incorporated it into their education system, there is still a lot to be done at a more grass root level if we want our education to gain maximum advantage from the modern day IT. We need IT-based education to secure future generations and make them stand shoulder to shoulder with students from the developed countries of the world.
Pakistan, being a developing country, is still in an evolutionary phase. Over the last decade the adoption of IT has catapulted; with the result that there is no household or educational institution or even a departmental store without a computer to handle most of the work. Despite this being a very encouraging development, there is room for a lot more.
Even though IT has seen widespread adoption in the country, the need of the hour is for the government to step up and make IT a priority. Therefore, we at Punjab Information Technology Board have always considered Information Technology to be the key to our evolution from a developing country into a developed and modern one.
We aim to expand the limits of IT from merely the elite universities and schools to our own government schools, where we plan to incorporate it in the curriculum for not just the students but the teachers as well.
Punjab Information Technology Board’s first initiatives include mega projects like the Information Technology University, e-Learn and IT Training Academy.
Information Technology University comes under Punjab Government. It is considered as one of the best institutes in the province for the IT education. At the university we have leading IT experts as faculty members. Students are being provided quality education in the field under their guidance.
e-Learn is yet another project by Punjab Information Technology Board in which Punjab Government is working on online textbooks for Middle and Secondary Schools. Students will, through this initiative, have easy access to the books online; in the comfort of their homes as long as they have an internet connection.
The third project is exclusively for professionals. With the IT Training Academy, Punjab Information Technology Board aims to provide guidance and training of IT to professionals. With all leading job opportunities in the world being exceedingly reliant on IT as a skill, the need for such a training facility was felt by our Board and taken due care of. The IT Training Academy offers programs and certification courses in multiple areas of the field of Information Technology at subsidized rates to give trainees the skills and knowledge to gain a competitive advantage in their workplace. This will also help promote the culture of entrepreneurship and create a more skilled workforce in the province. These trainings will be especially beneficial for Graduates, IT Students & Faculty, Professionals and Government Officials.
IT has become second nature to the developed world; it is about time Pakistan joins the list of countries embracing IT wholeheartedly as well. With these initial and all future projects we plan to increase awareness about Information Technology at a grass root level; so that one day IT can be accessible to the majority of the population of our country.