Policies and Challenges for Implementation of ICT at Higher Education in Technologically Advanced Countries

Abstract

The need to integrate Information Communication Technology (ICT) in higher education remains a complex though an essential goal for all technologically advanced countries. The varying ‘degree of success’ reflects differing ‘degrees of success’ that can be found across various national contexts, and comes as a result of specific policy framework, infrastructural readiness and user adaptability. Students’ perceptions of usefulness, technical competency and infrastructure constraints are the prime factor in ICT adoption in India. Between 2004 and 2023, government as well as the private sector have shown great strides in ICT integration in the country, however, the progress has been uneven owing to the digital readiness gaps as well as difference in institutional firms attitudes. Forward looking policy and training of educators are advocated by Israel to foster the integration of ICT. However, there persists unequal access to technology, and the demand for an ongoing update to effectively put it into implementation. Despite lacking an organized planning scheme for higher education for the next era as some countries do, China's five year development plans have been quite ambitious and have pushed transformation of higher education at the scale that we have never seen before, but the execution is uneven and resources are unevenly distributed that limit a level playing field. During benchmarking and classrooms modernizing, Japan has showed good progress in this sector but access to the whole region and teacher’s training has not been done yet. While digital education policies have encouraged institutional transformation in Germany, wide variations in ICT use suggest further need to provide support systems and the subject matter is also still scarcely prepared. Implementation of ICT in higher education is possible and successful not only in the presence of latest technologies in place but also if made inclusive, if the infrastructure is distributed equitably, and if the faculty development and digital pedagogy initiative is sustained.