Maldives is an example of a country which can reap great benefits from ICT implementation particularly because of its geographical make up and the government initiatives. Inhabitants of the many islands and atolls are isolated from one another because of the distance and sea between them and physical travel is an expensive undertaking. ICT expansion can help them to virtually reduce the geographical separation and take advantage of the education and training facilities available in other islands particularly the capital Male’.
ICT expansion has definitely been an integral part of the policy framework in Maldives; significant improvement has been seen in terms of its penetration and usage. Maldives has been able to achieve high literacy rates and has also accomplished its commitments as per the Millennium Development Goal of Universal Primary Education with a 100% enrollment rate in the primary sector. The challenge lies in harnessing ICT in education, particularly in training and motivating teachers to use ICT services. The establishment of Teacher Resource Centers is definitely a positive step toward expanding skills of teachers although more centers need to be established and more courses to be tailored for the capacity building of the trainers.
There is also a need to strengthen the delivery mechanism for policies pertaining to reduction of ICT costs; in this regard efforts will have to be made to introduce competition in the ICT industry. Maldives can gain enormous benefits by focusing on content development and curricular reform for overall improvements in the quality of education since the basic infrastructure is already in place.
