E-Learning Poll Results: What’s Ahead For Education In Pakistan?
Our recent poll about technology based distance learning has shown positive results. The majority – 66% of voters – believes that e-learning is the way forward. This is in line with our thinking. At TelecomPk.net we are passionate about technology, education and community to solve problems and make progress. With this goal in mind we are starting a series of posts about e-learning opportunities and challenges in Pakistan.
I have written about schools and role of telecom industry in education. I am personally involved with supporting a few schools in the private (NGO) sector. There are some great efforts going on despite the challenges of funding, finding good teachers and defining curriculum. Despite the great intentions, it is very hard to scale such efforts. I have come to the conclusion that technology is the way to scale the education so that it can reach the masses, in the way that it makes sense to them (for example, using Urdu or other local languages). Technology is also valuable to engage and motivate different groups which are involved with education.
Some people expressed concerns in the poll about infrastructure and cost issues associated with e-learning. It is a valid point and one that needs to be carefully addressed. The trends in Pakistan are clearly in favor of technology based learning – the cost of devices and connectivity keeps on decreasing, while efforts by organizations such USF continue to make connectivity more widespread.
For the youth, technology based learning comes as natural. It is the decision makers who need to understand and realize the potential. One thing is for sure - the future of Pakistan hinges on providing a scalable, well-managed and balanced education environment for all. Let’s get working on it.
TelecomPk.Net is a leading source of information and analysis about Pakistan Telecom industry. 
