Individual Consultant - Integration of Digital Technologies Into The Iraqi Education System

During the COVID-19 pandemic, education actors in Iraq made significant investments in delivering teaching and learning using distance modalities such as television and other ICTs. However, these efforts were largely uncoordinated, with different actors developing and delivering content in an ad hoc manner, with no over-arching policy and strategy. In order to strengthen MoE capacity to coordinate the integration of ICTs and digital media for learning and to facilitate its delivery, this set of activities builds on Iraq’s commitment to the Transforming Education Summit track 4: Learning and Digital Transformation, as well as ongoing investments and lessons learnt from COVID-19, Sub-programme “Digital and Distance Education”. These efforts are further aligned with UNESCO’s Digital Transformative Collaborative Platform established at UNESCO, which serves as a global mechanism to foster collaboration, coherence, and innovation across digital transformation initiatives in education. The platform provides a shared framework for policy dialogue, technical cooperation, and partnership-building, supporting Member States in strengthening coordinated, inclusive, and sustainable digital learning ecosystems. These actions fall under the INES first pillar Access and Equity (enrolment and equality) of General Education. The use of digital technology in teaching and learning reached new prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic as much education moved to an online, distance basis. This experience, in Iraq as elsewhere, demonstrated both the advantages and limitations of online learning. Since the end of the pandemic, key questions include the use of digital technology in the classroom, the role of distance or hybrid learning as schools have re-opened, and the capacity of teachers to integrate digital technology into their pedagogical practices. While many of these issues continue to animate international debates, UNESCO with the MoE as a first step in the national context, developed of the Action Plan that provides a coherent and sound framework for using digital resources in teaching and learning.