Ha Noi --IBM Viet Nam officially announced the nationwide spread of its KIDSMART early learning sponsor programme for Vietnamese pre-school education in 2009.
Thirty "Young Explorer" complexes worth nearly US$100,000 will be provided to 30 schools in 28 provinces with priority going to Dak Lak, Dak Nong and Lam Dong.
To date the programme has sponsored 332 Young Explorer complexes worth approximately $1 million, of which 292 are for pre-schools in 63 provinces and the rest are for children centres and hospitals.
With the support from the Department of Pre-school Education, IBM has achieved its objective of rolling out the KIDSMART model to cities and provinces throughout the country, supporting the ongoing renewal of curriculum and teaching and learning methods in pre-school units located in areas with varying cultural and socio-economic conditions.
IBM Viet Nam General Director, Vo Tan Long, said: "IBM strongly believes that enterprises and individuals alike should contribute to the society where they live and work, and this re-affirms our long lasting investment and commitment to Viet Nam. The programme was built based on the reality that children are now living in a multi-media environment, where they can rapidly learn creative and co-operative skills which will become very important skills for studying and working in a knowledge economy."
Over the past nine years, the KIDSMART early education programme has had a positive impact on educational reforms. IBM has conducted workshops for 1,200 educational managers at department level and pre-school teachers; organised contests to help young teachers improve their learning and creative capability.
As the extension of project "creative teaching aids" conducted at schools, KIDSMART is a globally sponsored programme providing children with a kick-start for their education and giving teachers useful high tech solutions. In co-operation with the International Charity and Profit-free Organisation, IBM has sponsored more than 200 American cities and 30 countries worldwide with thousands of "Young Explorer" complexes. Viet Nam is one of the 15 countries in Asian-Pacific region that has adopted the programme. VNS