Afghanistan ministry of higher education

Background
The Ministry and GLP share a mutual vision of empowering teachers, learners and communities to improve education access and quality.
The Ministry recognizes ICT as an enabler of economic development. This is reflected in the government’s vision to expand access to an international knowledge society by implementing IT systems in higher education institutions. The Ministry further plans to establish a capable and sustainable IT infrastructure at higher education institutions, requiring capacity at the Ministry and institutional levels.
The Global Learning Portal is a multi-stakeholder Global Development Alliance that provides interactive, open-source networking solutions to connect and empower teachers, institutions and education activities throughout the world. GLP supports teacher empowerment and collaboration in over 130 countries through a user-friendly web portal and network for educators and a series of inter-linked customized portal applications in support of development projects. Using a comprehensive and flexible set of portal tools for collaboration, communication, and knowledge management, GLP supports education activities in such regions as Africa, Central Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
The Afghanistan Higher Education Project (HEP) is part of an overall program to rehabilitate and strengthen the capacity of the education system to improve access to quality education throughout Afghanistan. The HEP project supports this broader objective by building sustainable capacity at the tertiary level to deliver high quality pre-service and in-service teacher education for secondary school teachers. The project is designed to deliver both short-term improvements in the quality of teaching and academic management through training and support as well as long term, sustainable improvement through strengthening the human resource base and institutional capacity.
Purpose of MOU

This MOU will set out a framework for enhanced collaboration between the Ministry and GLP towards the transfer of ownership of the Higher Education Portal and the building of capacity for management of the portal by GLP within the Ministry.

Responsibilities

The Ministry will be responsible for the following:
• Provide office space for the GLP Technologist and Content Specialist at the Ministry;
• Identify and make available staff within the Ministry for trainings conducted by the GLP Technologist;
• Take ownership, at the close of the Higher Education Project, of the Higher Education Portal, including:
(1) overseeing faculty participation on the Portal;
(2) refreshing information and uploading new materials on Portal pages;
(3) providing technical support to Portal users.

GLP will be responsible for the following:
• Recruit, hire and fund the positions of Technologist and Technical Coordinator to work within the Ministry until January 2011;
• Refurbish the room at MoHE provided to the two local GLP/HEP staff;
• Refurbish the leaking roof for five IT rooms at MoHE;
• Provide fuel for the IT department generator until January 2011;
• Provide trainings to Ministry staff on technical portal management skills;
• Provide trainings to Ministry staff, as needed, on ICT literacy skills;
• Maintain the Higher Education Portal on GLP servers after the completion of the Higher Education Project, for the duration of the GLP project, or assist with the installation of the Portal on servers hosted in Afghanistan.

Costs It is understood that GLP and the Ministry of Higher Education shall each respectively bear any and all costs arising out of their respective responsibilities which have not been previously specified in other sections of this MOU.

Expected Beneficiaries

The beneficiaries of the activities pursued under this MOU are education stakeholders in Afghanistan, including Ministry officials and staff, professors, and teachers. By joining efforts, the impact and quality of our work will be strengthened and its likelihood for sustainability improved.

Coordination and Communication
• Both parties are responsible for maintaining regular and open communication concerning the progress of their activities. This communication will include written correspondence sent by electronic mail and faxes, and telephone conference calls.
• Periodic coordination meetings will be held to review progress and evaluation and discuss new features for the coming year, through the submission of annual workplans, regular progress reports on program activities, and quarterly financial reports.

Duration of Agreement
This MOU shall be effective as of May 2009 and shall remain in effect until January 2011. This MOU may be terminated earlier: (a) unilaterally by either party for any reason upon 60 days written notice; (b) immediately upon notice by a party if the other party fails to support the intent of the MOU; or (c) as otherwise mutually agreed between the parties.

 Notices
All notices regarding changes, additions, interpretations, or disagreements concerning the terms of this Memorandum shall be directed in writing to the following individuals (or their successors):
For the Afghanistan : Dr. Muhammad Azam Dadfar
Ministry of Higher Education Minister of Higher Education
For GLP: Robert Schware
Managing Director
Academy for Educational Development
1825 Connecticut Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20009
Phone: (202) 884-8000
Fax: (202) 884-8979

Other Terms
This MOU constitutes the entire understanding of the parties, superseded all previous understandings and commitments, and may be amended or modified only in writing and signed by an official representative of both parties.
Neither party will be liable to the other for any consequential, special, nor incidental damages in connection with this MOU, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties agree to the terms and conditions of this MOU:

Signature Signature

______________________________ ______________________________

Name Name

______________________________ ______________________________

Title Title

______________________________ ______________________________

Date Date