BEIRUT – The Lebanese ‘Ana Aqra’ (I read) Association signed a cooperation agreement with Talal Abu-Ghazaleh for Technology (TAGTech), one of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Global (TAG.Global) firms, to support the Association’s distance-learning approach in several Lebanese public schools in light of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The agreement was signed by Ms. Loubna Khalil, Ana Aqra Association President, and Mr. Burhan Al Ashkar, TAGTech Executive Director in Lebanon.
According to the agreement, TAGTech will supply its latest model tablet with Dual Nano SIM card for third-grade primary students in seven public schools in Beirut and Mount Lebanon Governorate as a first phase, including: Uruguay Public Mixed School, Tarik El Jadidah School for Girls, Al Basta Public School 1, Burj Hammoud Mixed Second Intermediate, Martyr Abdel Karim Al Khalil School, Omar Zeinni Public School and Omar Fakhoury Primary School.
Ms. Khalil expressed her happiness to collaborate with TAG.Global in supporting the education process, saying that as ‘a result of this cooperation, 700 tablets were provided and distributed directly to seven public schools in Beirut and Mount Lebanon’.
Khalil pointed out that Ana Aqra Association cooperates with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in various areas of special interest to students, stating that the CHILD project in partnership with the Swiss Caritas, funded by both the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Catholic Organization for Relief and Development Aid (CORDAID), was established to support education in emergency cases , particularly in response to the Beirut blast, by providing the above-mentioned devices. She added that the Association always seeks to exert more efforts that help enhance the engagement of students in distance learning and raise the level of education in Lebanon.
For his part, Mr. Al Ashkar expressed his pride in the provision of advanced TAGTech devices designed and produced by Arab expertise to students to support their learning journey through distance learning.
Al Ashkar affirmed that the goal of supporting distance learning, as pursued by Ana Aqra Association, translates the guidance of HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, founder and chairman of TAG.Global, who announced at the 2018 Beirut Education Conference that the shift from traditional education to distance learning is imperative, and he stressed at the same time the need to build a solid infrastructure for it before it’s too late. He underlined that, one year later, the Corona pandemic had forced the entire world to shift to distance learning.
It is worth mentioning that TAGTech offers high-specs and performance technological devices that match global products at affordable and competitive prices at its showrooms in Lebanon, the Arab region and worldwide. So far, it has produced up to 15 devices including laptops, tablets, smartphones and other technological devices.
Ana Aqra Association is an independent, non-profit organization that promotes independent learning and reading at Lebanon’s public schools. It targets students in basic and early childhood, especially in the underprivileged schools as well as building capacity of teachers and management cadres in those schools to improve the overall level of teaching and learning. The Association also provides education services during emergencies in line with both the National Education Strategy and the Interagency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) Standards.
