Developing Nations Step Up The Effort Toward Tech Literacy
August 7, 2006
By Sheila Riley
Investor's Business Daily

Many countries look to bridge the gap between technological haves and have-nots.

Brazil, Croatia, Greece and Rwanda make up a select international club: those that rank digital literacy as their top priority.

That's according to a new survey of 62 countries by Certiport, which provides training and certification in tech skills for schools, businesses and the public. Certiport, based in American Fork, Utah, released the findings at a conference Saturday.

Developing countries realize that to participate in the global economy they'll need tech-literate populations, says Appu Kuttan, chairman of Alexandria, Va.-based CyberLearning, a project of the nonprofit National Education Foundation.

"Digital literacy drives technology, and technology is driving the knowledge-based economy," said Kuttan, a speaker at the conference.

Brazil, Croatia, Greece and Rwanda are not alone in focusing on the issue.

Take Mauritius, which has an economy based on tourism and sugar cane. The island nation, between India and Africa in the Indian Ocean, has an English-French population of 1.2 million.

In September, Mauritius will begin a four-year project training one-third of its population in digital literacy.

That means learning to use technology to participate in the economy—banking online, for example—says David Saedi, Certiport's chief executive.

The tiny country represents a global phenomenon—smaller nations leapfrogging bigger ones in tapping the digital economy. "Mauritius is getting a jump on other countries in that area," Kuttan said.

Countries are concerned about more than making their citizens tech savvy. Nations also want to ensure their work force sticks around.

Loss of domestic intellectual capital—brain drain—was reported as the No. 2 priority for five of the 29 countries that indicated how their government would likely rank important issues.

Other issues in the top five included general education and literacy, development of public services and infrastructure, and dealing with extreme poverty and hunger.

The poll surveyed policymakers, including government officials; researchers; administrators of programs designed to bridge the digital gap; and educators.

The majority of survey respondents came from developing countries.

The poll's results confirm the urgency of addressing the digital gap, says Joyce Malyn-Smith, a director of strategic initiatives for the Newton, Mass.-based nonprofit Education and Development Center.

"It's a new type of evolution," said Malyn-Smith, who also participated in the conference.

Digital discrepancy isn't just about providing adequate computer equipment, she says. People need the tech competence to use that equipment.

"There's a deeper understanding that it's not only an access divide; it's a skills divide," Malyn-Smith said.

The Certiport survey ranked countries by stages in their commitment to narrowing the digital gap. Stage 0 indicated no governmental response to the issue, and Stage 4 represented the highest response.

Among those countries at the top of the scale were Canada, the United Kingdom and India, which has one of the world's widest divides. Of its 1 billion people, 75% are technologically illiterate, Kuttan says.

Formerly violence-ravaged Rwanda, now using technology to monitor soil fertility and crop yield, also ranks at Stage 4.

Among those at the bottom—Stage 0—are Bangladesh, Cyprus, Kenya and Poland.

One country bypassing the Industrial Age and going directly from an agricultural to a tech-based economy is Costa Rica, Malyn-Smith says.

The Central American nation, with 4 million residents, is the regional leader in digital literacy.

Developing tech skills is the primary government goal for the next four years, says Alejandrina Mata Segreda, Costa Rica's education vice minister.

Costa Rica decided 20 years ago to pursue digital literacy, Mata says. Computer education at the K-12 level is credited with reducing the high school dropout rate there from 52% to 38%. "When students get in touch with computers and learn skills, they learn to think differently," said Mata, another conference participant.

Costa Rica's policy on digital literacy is part of an effort toward a more productive work force.

"We need to put education together with production," Mata said. "Digital literacy is one of the most important areas of investment in Costa Rica right now."

The country wants to see its technologically skilled population making good money, not becoming solely a source of inexpensive labor—as part of, say, outsourced services.

"We have to give students all the skills they need to be good and well-paid workers," Mata said. "We don't want cheap workers. We want our people to earn good salaries."

This story originally appeared in the August 7, 2006 edition of Investor's Business Daily.