Coverage
Religious Affairs' first IC³ group now certified tech-savvy
By Danial Norjidi
April 7, 2011
www.borneobulletin.com.bn
The Islamic Studies Department of the Ministry of Religious Affairs yesterday held a certificate presentation and appreciation ceremony for 23 participants who had recently passed the Internet and Computing Core Certification (IC³) examination, yesterday, at the Radisson Hotel in the capital.
The recipients - officers and supervisory teachers of ICT at Religious and Arabic schools from the Department of Islamic Studies - completed their IC³ course with their final examinations being held at Seameo Voctech Centre in Gadong, from Nov 9-20 last year. They represent the first group under the Ministry of Religious Affairs to have participated in the course.
The course was aimed at helping participants achieve an understanding and experience in ICT, and to help employees produce quality work more efficiently, productively and effectively.
Present as the guest of honour at yesterday's event was Awang Hj Harun bin Hj Juned, Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, who was also on hand to present the certificates to the participants.
The Acting Director of Islamic Studies, Ustazah Hjh Rusita binti Hj Yahya, in a speech prior to the presentation said, "The holders of IC³ certificates are individuals who are certified and recognised internationally as possessing basic knowledge and skills in handling computers, including computer software and also the use of the Internet.
"This department hopes that you will all be a driving force towards more creativity in making use of computers as a tool in Religious and Arabic education," she added. "The department will continue to strive to supply Religious and Arabic schools with computer equipment wherever appropriate, in accordance with set procedures."
Ustazah Hjh Rusita also spoke of a study carried out by the department in November 2010, which dealt with computer hardware needs at Religious and Arabic schools. It was found that the department needed 400 desktop computers to provide for them adequately for management and administrative use.
In the aspect of training, the department carried out random surveys with almost 2,500 teachers in regards to skills in the use of Microsoft Office applications, she added. The survey showed that almost 90 per cent of teachers could use Microsoft Word, while 65 per cent could use Microsoft Excel and 60 per cent, Microsoft Powerpoint.
"The department will plan more exercises to increase teachers' skills, especially in the field of ICT," she added. "We hope that they will all receive the support of all parties so that our teachers will be able to keep up with current ICT development."
Yesterday's certificate presentation ceremony was followed by an Interactive Whiteboard demonstration that focussed on how it can help with the education process, among other uses.