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IT Fitness Test Shows That Average Slovak Is an "IT Apprentice"
Tuesday 16 March 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, March 16 (TASR) - IT skills of more than 55.000 Slovaks have been tested this year within the so-called IT Fitness Test, the results of which have shown that the average Slovak is as IT skilled as an "apprentice". However, Education Minister Jan Mikolaj said he was satisfied with both the project and the results.
Organisers of the test programme said on Tuesday that the tested Slovaks passed an IT test of advanced level only with 38.49 percent on average. "The results have revealed that the majority of Slovaks uses only the very basics of what information-communication technologies offer," said Slovak IT Association President Juraj Sabaka. According to him, the participants have shown a good knowledge of computer software components, and they did well in searching information on the Internet. The most significant shortcomings have been identified when it comes to the Internet security awareness, however.
Also, the test (running between February 1 and March 5) revealed that internet banking represents the most commonly used online service among Slovak internet population.
The testing, which is part of the activities under the European Commission's campaign called 'e-Skills Week 2010', was carried out on a sample of all age categories of Slovaks, with the youngest participant aged 9 and the oldest 76.
Commenting on the conclusions, Mikolaj said his administration understands well that the students' results have proven to be "slightly better" than those of teachers - although the test wasn't focused on teachers as such. "We're now concentrating on educating teachers to help them improve their IT skills," said the minister.
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