Annotated Bibliography: ICT Use In Primary And Secondary

Schools, India
By Mark Kinnersley
Websites
1. http://www.akshoptifibre.com (accessed 9th February 2005)
An analysis of the Gramdoot projects which covers the entire District of Jaipur in
Rajasthan and provides Broad Band Services to 400+ Gram Panchayats. A kiosk
equipped with a computer, printer, webcamera and two fibres used for LAN and
CATV services are managed by a computer literate villager. The objective of the
project is to empower girls and women in rural India, offering education from a
primary level using resources such as the internet. The project is a revolutionary
concept in that it seeks to use ICT and provide Broadband services to the villagers at
affordable cost so that previously marginalised girls can gain access to education.
2. http://www.ciet.nic.in/etissues.html (accessed 13th February 2005)
A review by Dr Rai of the partnership including the Central Institute of Education
Technology (CIET), bringing Information Technology (IT) into the Indian education
system. PCs and the internet, video and radio will be introduced into secondary
education. Teachers in the target schools throughout India will be trained in
communication with students, system instruction, management of resources and
innovative teaching e.g. TV and video learning. The Central Board of Secondary
Education in Delhi is responsible for ensuring that the major concern of a lack of
teacher commitment and technology awareness is met so implementation is of a high
standard.
3. http://www.comminit.com/experinces/pdskdv112002/experiences-931.html
(accessed 12th February 2005)
An evaluation of the Butterflies Broadcasting Children Project, which was set up in
March 2000 to enable poor and impoverished children in New Delhi to raise
awareness of their needs and gain education. The children were taught in team work,
accuracy of communication, time management and the use of mini-discs in
broadcasting a radio programme. These children were between the ages of 7 and 18,
however due to their poverty were missing out on any form of education. The aim of
getting the children national airtime is still being pursued with the hope of raising
awareness to their needs so that they can gain an education.
4. http://www.cooptionstech.com/sisusamrakshak.htm (accessed 5th February 2005)
UNICEFs Hyderabad field office, in cooperation with the State Governments of
Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka has initiated the Sisu Samrakshak project. With the
support of CoOptions Technologies, ICTs are used for early childhood development.
The project provides information on the standard of job training and frontline support

for teachers in primary and secondary education. A link has been assumed between
education and the standard of living. Therefore the aim of the project is to improve the
standard of education throughout the relevant States using ICTs, with the belief that
this will improve the quality of life and technology access in this region of India.

5. http://www.crystal-elearning.net/e1348/e3001/index_eng.html (accessed 27th

January 2005)
The site provides details of the Crystal Comprehensive Programme for building
eLearning Institutions, initially set up for the three year period from 2002 to 2005
within India. The objectives of the scheme were to set up an eLearning competence
centre, set up a service network for tutors and teachers in schools and to ensure that
all training products and organisational strategies can be re-used for BMZ funded
projects. It is then hoped that the teachers communication and presentation skills as
well as the experience and basic understanding of computer technology can be passed
on for the benefit of school children in India and Uganda.
6. http://www.datamationfoundation.org/www.unesco.org (accessed 15th February
2005)
Review of a programme on eradication of poverty entitled Empowering the
Underprivileged through the use of ICTs set up in Babul-ulm-Madarasa located in a
Muslim ghetto in Northern Delhi. This is an extreme example where over 60% of
girls drop out of education and are forced to remain in the house for the entirety of
their lives unless given the permission of a man. A centre has been set up offering
counselling, multi-media training and learning opportunities on computers to
compensate for missed primary and secondary education, where empowering girls to
return to school is not a feasible option.
7. www.datamationfoundation.org/ict%27s%20for%20development.pdf (accessed
13th February 2005)
A review of the Community Information Centres (CIC) project, which has been
jointly implemented in the eight North-Eastern states of India by. The objective of the
project is to bridge the digital divide between mainstream India and the traditionally
backward North-Eastern States through ICT. Computer education and training in
email and internet access is offered to many of the local primary and secondary school
children to improve their access to resources. Online syllabus access, teaching and
examination is also offered to students bringing similar educational opportunities in
rural India to those offered urban areas.
8. http://wwwddsindia.com (accessed 26th January 2005)
This site provides information on the Deccan Development Society (DDS). This NGO
works in the Medak district of Andhra Pradesh with 100 Dalit womens groups

(sangams) having a total membership of nearly 4000 women in 75 villages. They have
set up a community radio station in Machnoor village which seeks to serve local
information needs of the region including gender justice. Many women across rural
India are deprived the opportunity to complete primary and secondary education.
DDS radio informs young girls of how and where they can get educated, as well as
providing teaching via the radio in order to compensate for what they are missing out
on.
9. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/article/view/100883/1/ (accessed 17th February
2005)
The Digital Opportunity Channel offers brief overviews of ICT initiatives. This
reference gives an example of a report on President A.P.S. Abul Kalams desire for
tele-education and ICT to play a pivotal role in Indian education. Through the
EDUSAT scheme it is hoped that existing terrestrial broadband, wireless and optical
communication networks can be made use of to offer a fully connected multi-media
learning environment. The aim is to make education appealing and innovative, but it
appears inevitable that quality of service is likely to diminish away from the urban
centres due to implementation limitations such as infrastructure, training opportunities
and cost.
10. http://www.digitaldivident.org/pdf/vidya.pdf (accessed 13th February 2005)
This paper analysis the Vidya computer programme run by Aptech (since 1999),
offering IT training. Students are taught computer and internet skills in a way that will
benefit their schooling, with Junior and more advanced Vidya training on offer.
350,000 students have been trained in India in the many centres that are free for
students to visit from 7am to 8pm 7 days a week. The 6 module course takes 48 hours
to complete at a cost of $39, while three year courses are being offered for poor
students in centres like the Thane, Mumbai centre. The challenge remains to educate
students in computing skills that will enhance their primary and secondary education.
11. http://dhan.org (accessed 22nd January 2005)
Offering an overview of the Development of Humane Action Foundation (DHAN),
initiated in 1997 to fight against poverty in South India. The foundation works
alongside academic institutions to allow computer education in schools and to set up
100 internet kiosks in the Madurai district. Aims of the project include providing
computer education in schools at low cost as well as providing email and internet
browsing facilities. Such use of ICT is helping to assist teachers in providing material
for students and empower girls in education establishments.
12. http://www.drishtee.com/nd/content/a1.asp (accessed 12th February 2005)
The site offers an analysis of Drishtee which was created in late 2000, to introduce
technology to rural India. Drishtees aim was to facilitate the use of technology for
transactions and communication on a localised intranet system between villages and a

district centre. Computers were used as the machinery of education with cyber access
being used to allow students and teachers to gain access to resources and syllabus
material. The Drishtee initiative has shown great success in overall community
empowerment through technology, but has not been especially innovative in its
support of rural education.

13. http://www.economictimes.indiatimes.com/articlesshow/msid-980744,prtpage1.cms (accessed 17th February 2005)

An analysis is offered of the Department of Information Technology (DIT) and its
framework for enabling information and service kiosks in Indian villages. These
integrated Common Service Centres (CSCs) offer both private and government
services, in education and other rural service requirements. The system aims to deliver
activities to an IT-enabled environment using an easily replicated system, but at face
level the system appears too broad to have created any sufficient improvement to
education in rural India.
14. http://www.enescobkk.org/education/ict/v2/detail.asp?id=14113 (accessed 19th
January 2005)
An analysis of the ICT in Schools government initiative in India. The aim of the
initiative is to provide equal opportunities to school students in rural areas and in
cities. This is achieved by promoting the usage of ICT, especially in Higher
Secondary and Secondary education Schools in rural areas. Teaching and learning
ICT skills can be used to enrich the existing curriculum, while promoting critical and
analytical skills amongst students. As a result ICT is used to provide a better
education system in the target regions throughout India.
15. http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue7_10/press/index.html (accessed 17th
February 2005)
This article offers a critical analysis of the internet and telecommunications in India
and China, making comparisons between the approaches taken in the 2 countries.
Being the second most populated country in the world, the internet really is put to the
test in Indian development, but key restrictions are noted. Only 200,000 PCs are
available in education and internet coverage in secondary education is very poor,
failing to take off at a substantial rate over the last 5 years. Illiteracy, a lack of English
speaking students and a 39% enrolment rate in secondary schools also make using the
internet and PCs very difficult when they mostly operate in English text.
16. http://www.genderawards.net/winners/nabanna.shtml (accessed 13th February
2005)
An evaluation of the Nabanna Information Network conceived by a Kolkatta based
NGO for the rural women of West Bengal. The network aims to empower women

through ICTs, increasing their education opportunities and therefore their

employability following their completion of primary and secondary school. They have
also been taught vocational skills relating to word processing and desktop publishing
applications, giving them the future employment opportunities that they are often
denied in rural India. As a result the project was awarded the Gender and ICTs award
coinciding with the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) by the Global
Knowledge Partnership (GKP).
17. http://www.global-learning.de/g-learn.com
This site offers an analysis of the transformation of Indian education through the net
and IT. The government National Task Force in India have set a target of reaching
100% literacy in all secondary schools by 2014. As a result India has continued to
promote web-learning through the government and non governmental organisations
(NGOs) with a growing number of online learning opportunities on offer through the
likes of IGNOU. Many localised projects are also discussed including the Maharastra
Industrial and Technical Consultancy Service (MITCOM) with learning opportunities
in Marathi for over 7,500 students.
18. http://www.gyandoot.nic.in/dhar_district/education.html (accessed 15th February
2005)
Gyandoot offers a critical evaluation of the Rajiv Gandhi Prathmik Shiksha Mission
which was launched in 1994. The mission aims to empower Dhar, which is one of the
educationally backward districts of Madhya Pradesh. The objectives were to deliver
access to education facilities, enrolment of children, retention of learners and a better
quality of education. Alternative schooling was also offered for the tribal children,
where social patterns did not allow for conventional schooling at the conventional
times of day as offered throughout the majority of India. The mission demonstrates
great strength in facilitating education through ICT with the needs of the children in
mind.
19. http://www.literacyonline.org/bfi_ili/countries_india.html
An evaluation of the Bridges to the Future Initiative (BFI), which aims to increase
access to education for the 59 million school aged children in India, currently not in
schools. BFI plans to provide a cost-effective tool to improve teaching standards and
education within all poorly serviced communities. The initiative will originally be
situated under the patronage of the state educational agencies in Andhra Pradesh and
Karnataka, as part of the support programme for the likes of UNESCO and UNICEF.
In all this will help to target 30,000 teachers and 6 million students throughout the
country.
20. http://www.mp.nic.in/rgm/ (accessed 27th January 2005)
This site offers an overview of the Rajiv Gandhi Mission, which has seen efforts from
the Madhya Pradesh Government to universalise primary education by the year 2002.
The Government set out with the principals that any community with 25 learners in a
tribal area and 40 learners in a non-tribal area who did not have a school within one

kilometre, had a right to demand and get one within 90 days. The use of ICT in
implementing these primary schools involved newspapers, leaflets and mobile phones
and transport for communication between relevant groups.
21. http://www.mssrf.org (accessed 27th January 2005)
Provides details of the Chennai based M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation
(MSSRF) and its Information Village Research Project (IVRP) set up in 10 villages
around Pondicherry. The project offers support and services in education where
Internet Radio and Educational Institutions based Community Radio is used by local
primary and secondary schools as learning resources. Educational CDs have also been
deployed in the project sites as well as software for running various educational
applications in the local language of Tamil. This project has been ongoing since 1998,
with success in a range of uses for ICT of which education is included.
22. http://www.ncert.nic.in/sites/organisation/organisation/htm (accessed 12th
February 2005)
This site analyses the National Council of Educational Research and Training
(NCERT) within the Government of India and support in improving school education
through the National Institute of Education (NIE). The Department of Computer
Education and Technological Aids (DCETA) within the NIE has worked to develop
computer education and modern technology as a means of improving Indian
education through ICTs. The fully established Learning with Computers scheme
operates at three levels and constantly looks to improve learning resources and the
syllabus throughout Indian schools.
23. http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6423
The site gives a review of the launch of the worlds first education satellite, which was
launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to target Indias rural
communities. India currently needs around 10,000 new schools to meet its educational
targets and the INSAT initiative has been seen as the only way to achieve this target
and reach marginalised students. The planned virtual classrooms can then be used to
cater for students of all ages up to the higher education level.
24. http://www.nsf.gov/ (accessed 10th February 2005)
This site offers an evaluation of the Million Book Digital Library Project, which was
set up by the National Science Foundation in the USA. The aim of the project was to
provide one million free-to-read books on the internet by 2005. The result is hoped to
provide access to a huge and unique resource for school children and teachers in poor
less developed countries such as India. It is also hoped that at least 10,000 books
among the million, will be accessible in more than one language so that Hindi and
Tamil transcripts are also available to India schools.

25. http://www.picopeta.com/showcase/education.php (accessed 17th February 2005)

This site offers a critical review of Picopetas Chhatttisgarh Project which aimed to
take forward and develop a way of introducing technology to school education in
India while overcoming the usual problems of high cost and computer training. The
project is successful in that it trained teachers first so that they could manage the use
of technology relevant to the syllabus. Programmes were then designed to teach
children how to use Simputers, which are handheld computers that are programmed
through a main station that the teachers control. Proactive learning proved very
successful for the students, while the Simputers were accessible for other local
students after school hours therefore allowing efficient use of the resource.

Books and Journals

26. Press, L. et al., (1998) On The Internet, November/December, pp 35-37
This article provides an overview of the Indian Millennium System which created a
partnership between the government and the private sector. Computers and increased
internet coverage were offered to schools, while one completely new school was built
with resources and a high level of technological equipment. The aim of this was to
increase the link between computer skills in secondary education and those going on
to study at higher education in establishments such as the new IIIT University. The
system neglects the needs of the students and teachers, while being dominated by the
private sector and a drive for economic growth in Indias high tech industries.
27. Rudolph, S. and Rudolph, L. (1972) Education and politics in India. Oxford
University Press. Delhi.
This text offers an insight into the Indian education system and the politics within
which it operates. Indian education post 1947 and the countrys independence is still
market by the private, upper class education system introduced under British colonial
rule. There is a need for teaching and technical education to be socially mobile
throughout society in order to reach the marginalised groups ad offer education to all.
Information communication technologies are however, clearly missing from Indias
education system into the early 1970s, especially away from the upper class institutes.
28. Sargent (1968) Society, Schools and Progress in India. Pergamon Press.
London.
This book offers a historic review of the political and governmental society within
which the Indian education system has been constructed. It highlights the importance
of investment in education at the time, in an aim to achieve security, prosperity and
social well being. While ignoring many minority groups, ICT is already relevant in
the use of text books to convey information to students that is relevant to their
syllabus. Each state had set up a high power Textbook Committee in the 1960s, in
order to highlight the need to supply reliable, up-to-date textbooks for use in schools.

29. Wolcott, P. and Goodman, S. (2002) Is The Elephant Learning To Dance? The
diffusion of the internet in the Republic of India.
This paper offers a review of internet cover and access in India, a country with nearly
700,000 people living in rural areas. The government has been very slow to embrace
privatisation of telecommunications, however sine the New Industrial Policy (NIP) in
1991, markets have shaped the country. Access, cost and usability are the main issues
raised with PCs and the internet, but in education support is largely restricted to
universities. The government have made claims that they would provide all secondary
schools with internet access and PCs by 2003, but this has not been fulfilled as
education continues to be neglected away from the urban hubs.

This article explores the increase in the use of ICT in education programmes
undertaken by pioneering states in India, such as Kerala. In the presence of lowering
costs and increasing availability in technological infrastructure, ICT educational
initiatives have been undertaken in 14 states. The need to produce relevant software in
the local language as well as to maintain culture and locale specific strategies is
paramount to success. With a focus on the ICT perspective for Kerala, the article
draws on the failings in project implementation areas such as content, infrastructure
costs and a lack of overall integration of ICT projects within the wider educational
setup in schools.