Materials for Sankoré Project installed in schools

The official installation and use of the equipment were carried out at the M. Burrenchobay Government School in Plaine Magnien in the presence of Dr Vasant Bunwaree, Minister of Education and Human Resources.

The launching was done in a Standard IV class whereby the teacher and the pupils worked on an interactive lesson and where the Interactive Whiteboard was used by both the teacher and the pupils. The Sankoré Project which aims to facilitate the provision of education through innovative technological means is being implemented in schools by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources and the MIE. It is mainly about the creation of digital educational resources for teachers and learners and providing an ICT-driven interactive interface in Mauritian schools. Digital educational resources are teaching tools that are organised through a computerised interface for educational purposes.

The MIE has undertaken the process of digital resource creation through its Centre for Open and Distance Learning (CODL). With regard to the Sankoré Project, a Learning Factory has also been set up at the CODL for digitalising the curriculum. In fact, in February 2011, the MIE signed an agreement with the French e-learning firm Paraschool, for assistance at the initial stage of developing digital materials and for training in the provision of pedagogical inputs for the digital classroom. To recall, a total of three hundred and thirty IWBs were handed to the Ministry of Education by the French Ambassador in Mauritius, Mr Jean François Dobelle, in April.

The installation of the IWBs and Projectors which has begun in all primary schools last week is expected to be completed by the end of June.  The MIE team is currently digitalising the Standard IV programme and these resources will then be used by the teachers as materials to teach in an innovative way. These educational resources which are re-usable can also be enhanced by the teacher to adapt to the school requirements. Besides, these resources are much more stimulating than the traditional resources as they stimulate the learner in visual, auditory and kinaesthetic ways.

The Ministry is expecting all 8,000 classrooms of the primary and secondary schools of the country to be equipped interactive materials by 2015.
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