ADDIS ABABA, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Huawei, a Chinese telecommunications company, have joined hands to deliver information communication technology (ICT) equipment for the Ethiopian Ministry of Education.
The support was made as part of the UNESCO and Huawei collaboration under the Technology-enabled Open School Systems for All (TeOSS) project, Huawei said in a statement issued Thursday.
Ayelech Eshete, Ethiopian state minister of education, during the handover ceremony commended UNESCO and Huawei for their unwavering commitment to education and for sharing their vision of a digitally inclusive society.
"I extend my gratitude once again to UNESCO and Huawei for their dedication to education and for this significant donation at this very critical time," Eshete was quoted by Huawei's statement as saying.
The state minister stressed that the donation of ICT equipment will open doors to a world of opportunities for the target secondary school students.
"It will enable them to explore diverse educational resources, expand their knowledge beyond textbooks, and connect with a vast global network of information and learning experiences," she said.
The TeOSS project, among other things, envisaged building technology-enabled crisis-resilient school systems that will make the comprehensive school education program accessible from schools, at home, and in other places to ensure the continuity and quality of learning no matter under normal or crisis situations, according to the statement.
The project, in particular, would help transform schools in low-resource countries into technology-enabled open schools and provide inclusive, equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all, it said.
Rita Bissoonauth, UNESCO representative to Ethiopia, said the UN agency, in partnership with Huawei and the Ministry of Education of Ethiopia, embarked upon the TeOSS project to reduce the digital divide and establish a crisis-resilient school system.
She said the initiative aims at enhancing the quality of equitable and inclusive education for all through the enhancement of the ICT infrastructure and capacity building of educators and education institutions focusing on secondary education.
"Today, we mark a significant milestone in this journey as we witness the delivery of the latest ICT equipment to secondary schools across Ethiopia," Bissoonauth was quoted by Huawei as saying.
