Firudin Gurbanov: "Information technology comes to rescue in this difficult situation"

An event dedicated to the International Education Day was organized by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the initiative of the National Commission of Azerbaijan for UNESCO.

The event was dedicated to the theme "Restoration and revival of education for the generation that lived through the COVID-19 pandemic”, e-huquq.az reports.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Education Firudin Gurbanov said that last year the new challenges were related, first of all, to the emergence of a post-industrial society, the widespread use of modern information and digital technologies, artificial intelligence.

One such challenge is connected with COVID-19 the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has created a completely different situation from traditional conditions around the world, making it necessary to reconsider socio-economic priorities.

Firudin Gurbanov noted with regret that the pandemic had a significant impact on the educational process, disrupting large-scale disruption of traditional education, closing schools and programs for lifelong learning. It has once again shown that in a changing world, education must be ready for mobile transformation.

The Deputy Minister also spoke about the relevant measures taken and being taken by the Ministry of Education to adapt to the new realities created by the pandemic, to ensure the sustainability of education. Firudin Gurbanov stressed that despite all the difficulties, children have the opportunity to learn, albeit remotely, due to technical capabilities. According to him, in fact, information technology saves us in this difficult situation. It helps teachers maintain the ability to communicate with students.

In his speech, Firudin Gurbanov noted that the Ministry of Education supports the initiatives put forward by UNESCO to strengthen joint efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in education during the pandemic and to join efforts to combat the challenges. He added that our country regularly shares its positive experience in this field with other member states. For example, the list of distance learning platforms, e-portals and training applications used in various countries to facilitate the learning process of students in different countries, posted on the official website of UNESCO, includes the “Polyup” platform, which serves the development of computational thinking and mathematical skills.

At the end of his speech, the Deputy Minister expressed confidence that in modern times, such meetings will contribute to effectively responding to the challenges of pandemic and post pandemic times.

Elnur Sultanov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Secretary General of the National Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan for UNESCO, gave brief information on history and essence of the International Education Day. Elnur Sultanov said that the main purpose of this initiative is to strengthen the collective efforts of UN member states, the UN system, the private sector, civil society and youth organizations to achieve global education goals. Noting that holding the International Education Day in 2021 on the theme "Restoration and revival of education for the generation that lived through the COVID-19 pandemic" is relevant and important for the current period, the Secretary General spoke about a number of initiatives put forward by UNESCO to address global challenges. He stressed that he played an active role in those initiatives. Elnur Sultanov also spoke about cooperation programs and projects between Azerbaijan and UNESCO in the field of education.

Vafa Yagublu, the head of the content, education and evaluation department in general education and Vusal Khanlarov, head of Informatization Department of Education, who attended the online event, spoke about the relevant measures taken by the ministry to adapt to the new realities created by the pandemic.

A general discussion was held and the event ended.