World Bank Grants Jordan $3.5 Million to Prepare for Digital Transformation Project in Education
Al-Taj News – The World Bank has approved a $3.5 million grant to Jordan to prepare a project for digital transformation in public education. The project includes a comprehensive assessment of schools’ readiness in terms of connectivity and digital infrastructure, as well as determining the technical specifications and costs required for nationwide expansion.
According to grant agreement documents reviewed by Al Mamlaka, the grant comes as part of preparations for additional financing for digital transformation under the “Jordan Pathway: Education Modernization, Skills, and Administrative Reforms” program, which was launched with $400 million in financing from the World Bank.
The new activities include piloting educational devices, studying their costs and the feasibility of implementing a national program for them, as well as exploring opportunities for local assembly of these devices.
The assessment will cover all public schools in Jordan, numbering approximately 3,500 schools, with the aim of assessing the current state of information and communications technology infrastructure, including electricity and internal wiring, device storage and charging spaces, and internet connectivity, and identifying gaps compared with digital learning readiness standards.
The project will also test, in a representative sample of schools, different internet capacities, Wi-Fi networks, access points, and the simultaneous use of devices, in order to establish technical specifications and cost estimates. This will take place alongside piloting connectivity and device solutions in urban, semi-urban, and rural schools before any nationwide expansion.
The documents reveal a pilot of Chromebooks or equivalent devices in a selected group of schools, aimed at testing the feasibility of implementing a national device program, starting with procurement, distribution, and asset management, and integrating the devices into classrooms, through to measuring their durability, maintenance requirements, and teachers’ support needs.
The grant also includes preparations to establish an innovation center for educational technology and artificial intelligence in partnership with Jordanian universities and the private sector. The center will work on developing AI-supported educational content, teachers’ professional development, and research in digital education.
