Mobile Learning in Pakistan
Girls in remote areas in Pakistan are using mobile phones to practice handwriting and improve literacy thanks to a UNESCO project sponsored by Nokia.
Azra's story
“I always wanted to go to school. When this mobile learning project was launched in our area I was very excited because now I can learn how to read and write. I said to my mother I need to be educated and my mother eventually agreed because she said I had helped her a lot and I deserved it. Up until then, I had been living in the village helping my mother with daily chores.”
“Before the mobile learning course, I and many girls of my age couldn’t read and write a single word, but now all the girls who benefited from this project can easily read and now we often exchange books, especially ladies magazines.”
“In our village parents don’t send their daughters to school. If they do, then it is only until grade five. After that they help their mothers at home. This project helps us continue our education.” Azra Misbih Ul Huda, Student
Azra sits with her younger brother who watches her sending text messages to exchange information and books with classmates.
Azra shows her brother the mobile content she receives from a UNESCO-sponsored learning centre in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. The centre supports Azra’s learning through a combination of face-to-face classes and educational materials sent to her by mobile phone.
"In our village mostly parents don’t send their daughter to school. If they do then only until grade five after that they help their mother at home".
To practice handwriting and literacy, Azra copies messages she receives on her mobile phone into a paper notebook.
Azra and her brother outside the UNESCO sponsored learning center Pherhala Village. The centre uses mobile learning to support students like Azra who have to travel long distances to receive face-to-face instruction.
“Education is important to get knowledge”
The success and enthusiasm generated by projects such as this bear powerful testimony to the fierce desire of girls to learn, the ease with which they adapt to education via new technologies, and the benefits reaped. Other UNESCO-led projects with Nokia in Mexico and Nigeria show how these technologies can also be used to improve the quality of teaching in remote areas or with indigenous communities.