Minister announces completion of Suriname Educational Network (SON)

At the 40th Anniversary of the Anton de Kom University of Suriname, Minister Wolf of Education announced the full implementation of the Suriname Educational Network.

At a special ceremony celebrating the 40th Dies Natalis of the Anton de Kom University of Suriname (AdeKUS) on November 1st, Minister E. Wolf of Education and Community Development stressed the importance of ICTs in Education. He noticed the fact that in recent years the university realised a “fit for the future” technical infrastructure on its premises. In the near future it should become the base for a national school network, the Suriname Educational Network (SON). This network not only offers the techical infrastructure, but also the platform for cooperation between educational institutes in order to realise a knowledge society.

As part of the Caribbean Universities Project for Integrated Distance Education (CUPIDE), AdeKUS cooperated with four other regional universities. One of CUPIDE’s outcomes is the implementation of the AdeKUS Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), i.e. Moodle, that can be accessed through the Internet from all over the world. Lecturers have been trained to use this system and to make their courses less dependent of time and place. In fact, it does not matter where teachers, supervisors, and students are. Even the interior can be reached once modern ICT solutions are in place. Via the VLE they always can communicate and have access to their resources.

ICTs pave the way for modern distance education. It will enable Suriname Bachelor students to go for a foreign Master’s degree without having to leave the country for some years. On the contrary, it enables AdeKUS to offer some of its courses completely online, also to students abroad.

The completion of the Suriname Education Network (SON) by extending it to the national level should no longer wait. It even is a prerequisite to let Suriname fully participate in other international initiatives like CARIBnet, the ICT infrastructure of the Caribbean Knowledge and Learning Network (CKLN).