IT and Educational Policy in the Asia-Pacific Region

Abstract

The Asian-Pacific region includes not only a large area but many contrasts in the countries involved. Countries that can be classified as advanced in their IT policies (Australia, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong China, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Singapore) differ from those with evolving policies (India, People’s Republic of China, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand) and both differ widely from the less-developed countries in the region such as the Pacific Island states. Key issues relate to infrastructure provision and the need for native-language instructional materials. Also, outside of the Republic of Korea and Australia there are few comprehensive schemes for monitoring or evaluating educational IT policy. Public-private partnerships including those with regional and international aid agencies have an important role in implementing IT in education in the region. IT policy issues in education in the region are illustrated by brief country studies from Sri Lanka and Singapore.