US embassy cable - 03AMMAN4212

UNCLAS AMMAN 004212 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECPS, EAID, JO 
SUBJECT:  Jordan Takes Major Step in Its Education 
Initiative 
 
1.  (U) SUMMARY:  The Jordanian Cabinet approved an $80 
million project as the first step in the provision of 
providing broadband connectivity to all learning centers in 
the country.  The centerpiece of the Jordan Education 
Initiative (JEI), launched by King Abdullah at the World 
Economic Forum (WEF) on June 21, the broadband project will 
transform ninety-six "Discovery Schools" into model 
facilities where information and communication technologies 
(ICT) are innovatively integrated with education.  The JEI 
relies heavily on US private sector participation for both 
project formulation and implementation during the 
preliminary stages.  END SUMMARY 
 
2.  (U) On June 19, 2003 the Jordanian Cabinet approved an 
$80 million project as part of its Jordan Broadband 
Learning and Educational Network.   The proposed broadband 
network initiative would upgrade the existing ADSL network, 
currently connecting 1000 schools, by laying 5000 
kilometers of fiber to supply up to one gigabyte connection 
speed.  The Ministry of Information and Communication 
Technology (MOICT) hopes to have the 8 public universities 
wired by September 2003, and the remaining 3000 schools, 23 
community colleges and 75 learning stations by fall 2006. 
 
3.  (U) During the final WEF Digital Divide Task Force 
meeting in January 2003, a roundtable of IT and telecom 
leaders selected Jordan to spearhead an education 
initiative.  The JEI was the final project of the WEF 
Digital Divide Task Force before its three  year mandate 
expired.  King Abdullah officially launched the JEI at the 
Extraordinary Annual Meeting of the WEF at the Dead Sea on 
June 21, with IT luminaries Hewlett Packard CEO Carly 
Fiorina and Sun Microsystems Chief Researcher John Gage in 
attendance. 
 
4.  (U) The JEI has three tracks: Discovery Schools, 
Lifelong Learning, and Jordan ICT Industry Development. 
The Discovery Schools track is designed to construct and 
test a new model of ICT-enabled learning that other 
developing countries can replicate.  The initiative uses 
ninety-six schools as pilots to demonstrate how ICT can 
facilitate learning, creativity and innovation.  The GOJ 
has partnered with the Cisco Learning Institutes to develop 
an e-curriculum, Intel to provide teacher training, and 
Hewlett Packard to provide the in-classroom technology, 
with other companies providing a variety of additional 
support.  The GOJ challenged its private sector partners to 
invent bold ways of utilizing technologies in the Discovery 
Schools to facilitate educational reform in Jordan.  The 
Lifelong Learning and ICT Industry Development tracks are 
still being formulated. 
 
5. (U) Emile Cubeisy, Chief Information Officer at the 
MOICT, expressed his appreciation to EconOff for the strong 
level of participation from US private sector companies in 
the Jordan Education Initiative.  He stressed the 
sustainability of the JEI, citing an agreement between 
Cisco and the GOJ that provides Cisco with a royalty from 
software that is developed and sold as a result of the JEI. 
He also noted that USAID funded programs such as INTAJ 
(Jordanian IT business association) and INJAZ (a youth 
entrepreneurship program) were playing a role in the JEI. 
 
6. (U) COMMENT:  The MOICT plans to showcase the JEI at the 
upcoming UN World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) 
and is actively working with its Irish counterparts to 
determine if the JEI can be used as a model for the broader 
Irish and Swedish E-Schools initiative.  Although the MOICT 
is beginning to implement the JEI, the success of the 
initiative will not be evident by the time of the WSIS. 
However, by December 2003, the private sector participants 
will have cemented their contributions to the JEI, and 
their willingness and methodology for engagement in this 
innovative educational reform program will be apparent. 
END COMMENT. 
GNEHM