Bridging the Intellectual Gap Through Technology in India

“If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow” – John Dewey The education sector is one of the most important sectors in India with 1.3 million schools. In the Union Budget of 2011-2012, Rs 52,057 crores ($9.7 Billion USD) was allocated for this sector alone. The spending on education is very large, with the spending on IT (information technology) within this segment also rising quickly. The government is encouraging private and public partnership in this sector with sizable investments being made by major corporate houses of the country. Given its growth potential and critical value, this sector has been on the watch list of almost every IT vendor for quite some time now. It is a known fact that the heart of India encompasses small towns and rural areas. Technology has made a difference in the way education is imparted, particularly in the way it reaches the heart of India, where nearly 70% of the country’s population lives there. A recent report from the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) indicates that the number of rural Internet users has increased from 29 million as on December 2011 to 38 million at the end of June 2012. The growth is expected continue to reach 45 million by the end of December this year. Also from the IAMAI report, almost 80% of rural Internet users go online mainly for educational and entertainment purposes. Interestingly, mobile Internet is seen as a driver of rural Internet penetration. The demand for mobile Internet via smartphones is rapidly catching up in the smaller cities and rural areas. The growth of the demand has mainly been driven by the abundance of low-cost data packs, local language content, and affordable smartphones. All these factors present exciting opportunities for the education sector because content can now be delivered by technology. Two of the fastest growing areas within this segment are soft skill and vocational training. These courses are mainly taken up by the Tier 2 and 3 cities (smaller cities). Education is a key sector in many small cities like Kota (Tier 3 city). Currently in places such as these, content is already being delivered over the web through various platforms such as video sharing sites like YouTube and many others. Many interesting developments are happening in the technology for education space. For example, a leading broadband service provider has been testing a product that has the capability to replace PCs for accessing broadband. The product can be attached directly to a television where the user would have complete PC functionality. Furthermore, low cost computers, priced very reasonably- at less than Rs 5000 (approximately $93 USD) will soon be made available in India and will go a long way to make the rural and low income population embrace information technology. Akash has recently launched an updated version of its tablet at under Rs 2000 ($37 USD). The tablet is aimed specifically at the student community. Another recent trend is that schools in smaller cities (tier 2 and 3) are increasingly adopting the latest technology. Schools in these smaller cities realize that it is difficult for their students to the same amount of exposure as their counterparts in the bigger cities; however, they are taking the help of technology to place their students on an equal footing. So, how much of a role can technology really play presently in India’s education sector? I believe a huge role, especially in terms of how technology is utilized to deliver education. There are four parts to learning: lectures, library, laboratory, and life, according to Mr. S. Sadagopan, the director at the International Institute of Information Technology in Bangalore. He says, “Technology plays a critical role in all these”. Sadagopan cities an example from the laboratories: “Frog dissection is completely gone…. many expensive instruments can be made available to school children in less endowed places through technology”. The smaller towns and rural areas of India will fuel the growth of technology used in education for many years to come. In a country where access to information is a challenge, technology will go a long way in making information available to people when they need it.