The Company for Technical Knowledge for Advanced Education (Taqniyat Al Maarifa), exclusive operator of ICDL in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, clarified its position on the cancellation of its local ICDL certification. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the company noted, among others, that “the conflict between the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation and the company is strictly financial and about dominance; and has no basis of concern pertaining to quality issues of the ICDL program offered.” Shedding more light on the issues and addressing the problem appropriately, the management of Taqniyat Al Maarifa further said “part of the criticism” against the company came from its employee holding senior position who was discharged months ago and has an axe to grind. The company argued that “if quality or violations (leveled against the company) were factual, he should have recommended improvements to the local ICDL program during his term, instead of finding fault with the institution just shortly after parting ways with it.” “ICDL is an international certification with services offered in the KSA in the same manner and quality as those offered around the world. The company is properly licensed in the Kingdom and runs a completely legitimate business,” contrary to certain published reports, it noted. Taqniyat Al Maarifa said it has “always abided by all the terms under its agreement with the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation. The company has made significant contributions to the Saudi community, foremost of which is the reinforcement of digital knowledge and the eradication of digital illiteracy in major segments of local society.” The statement further said the company's programs and standards were “in line with the international trend being adopted by operators all over the world and in full compliance with the testing standards set forth by the overall governing European Computer Driving License (ECDL) Foundation,” adding that “since its inception in the Kingdom in 2003 after obtaining a license from ECDL, the adoption of ICDL program locally and regionally has gained unprecedented success. It has actively supported government initiatives to reduce digital illiteracy and has granted thousands of ICDL certificates throughout the Saudi community.” The company has been facilitating ICDL certification within the Kingdom and has been introducing the program to major decision-makers such as the General Organization for Technical and Vocation Training for more than 7 years, and in the process has invested significant resources and manpower. Last year, the company was in fact honored for its achievements during ECDL's annual forum on the worldwide success of the ICDL program. It has remained firmly committed to meeting the demand of the international certification at reasonable costs, and continues to enhance its quality of service, the statement said. As for concerns over the qualification of its test administrators and supervisors, the company pointed out that its employees are “all qualified Saudi nationals from reputed colleges and universities and have received extensive training by the company to provide the required services. Since the TVTC is considered to be an expert on quality standards, it always had the right and the freedom to enforce its own quality standards over the centers that are under its jurisdiction. Alternatively, TVTC could have advised the company in writing of any issues of concerns prior to abruptly suspending the ICDL program.” Regarding questions about the tests being used for the ICDL program locally, particularly the incidence of limited questions, the company emphasized that it has released new testing questions and exercises in December 2009 and continues to provide tests for the program in accordance with international standards as approved by the European Computer Driving License. If a technical analysis is conducted, experts will find that the tests conducted offer 64 different combinations that are selected electronically based on the ICDL Syllabus Version 5.0 launched last year and implemented in several developing countries. The greatest challenge currently being faced by the company is the protection of trainee rights. “ICDL is adamant about maintaining its achievements that it accomplished during the past few years,” it added. There are presently over 10 million candidates for certification around the world and 1 million in the Arabic speaking countries. ICDL certificates are backed by the approval and participation of the region's various educational ministries, universities, and government authorities. The achievement of requirements for obtaining the internationally-acclaimed accreditation in any of the approved centers within the GCC or in any other place in the world poses a major challenge, the company said. For its part, the company is prepared to take the necessary steps to cover unpaid test fees to maintain the program's quality and reward the immense trust given to ICDL by GCC countries. Moreover, the company's recent decision to increase its prices was a “commercial decision” due to “fluctuations in the euro exchange rate, and the explosive inflation witnessed over the past few years” and “does not conflict with any agreements between it and other third party. Moreover, centers, organizations or individuals who find the increase unacceptable are free to adopt alternative programs that are more in line with their budgets,” the company further said in the statement. As an independent digital literacy program, ICDL, which is endorsed worldwide by education ministries, universities and government organizations, is validated through rigid testing. The program attests that the certificate holder possesses fundamental IT skills covering computer operation, file management, word and spreadsheet processing, database management, multimedia usage, Internet and e-mail. ICDL is endorsed worldwide by education ministries, universities and government organizations. It is accredited by more than 168 countries and available in more than 46 languages.
