Manish Upadhyay, Co-Founder & Chief Evangelist, LIQVID; AmitavaMaitra, Independent Ed Tech Consultant

Between us, we have more over 30 years of experience in the field of technology aided and enabled education. Fuelled by the desire to see and evaluate the application of technology in the school and higher education in the government owned and operated schools and institutes in India, we decided to look for data on the efficacy of ICT interventions. Though we searched long and hard, we could find nothing on the MHRD web- sites. To add to our agony, we found many crucial links did not work. We then decided to use the “brahamastra”, an RTI application. We thought that a simple application would do it. Enthused by the idea we looked up the process – it was simple – a `10 postal order and the list of questions to be sent to the Public Information Officer. But that is where things got complex. The MHRD web- site left us clueless as to whom to send the RTI application. There seemed to be a lot of divisions within the MHRD that seemed to be having something to do with school and higher education and ICT interventions. It was not clear as to who exactly did what. We decided to bite the bullet and thus, sent RTIs to all, hoping that our respondents will do their bit.

And thus began the next phase, the wait and the watch game. Some weeks later, we received the first shock. From most of the people, we got answers saying that we had addressed the postal order to the wrong person. It was to be in favour of the Pay and Accounts officer (PAO) and not the PIO. Apart from polite, terse and very official sounding letters, we did not get any relevant information save for the communication about our errant ways.

The world over, educational interventions, ICT or otherwise, are judged by forming two groups – one an experimental group and one control group involving statistically equivalent populations, and then objective measures on student performance as assessed through standard tests are used as key parameters to judge the efficacy of interventions

The notable exception was a PIO who bucked the  trend and actually answered some of our questions (even on an inaccurate postal order). We even had the privilege of receiving a letter from a PIO in the PMO telling us that he was forwarding our RTI application to someone in the MHRD, even though we had not sent any RTI to the PMO. Anyhow, undeterred, we sent postal orders in favour of the PAO and waited with baited breath. However, from all but one PIO we paid glowing tribute to, we got terse messages telling us that ‘no such information exists’ (the only response we got was from a mysterious sounding part of MHRD called “Schools-5 Section, Department of School Education & Literacy”). The PIO stated that evaluation reports for ICT interventions exist for four states in India and that by large these reports indicated the results were satisfactory or good. Intrigued and fascinated, we then sent an RTI report asking for copies of the four evaluation reports. We were then told that the reports did not exist in electronic form and so we would have to pay `292 to get xerox copies of the same. Again, we remained true to the cause and sent the Indian Government the money to photocopy the pages. And finally, six months later, we were in the possession of some relevant, concrete information. Curiosity had landed on Mars and we gave each other high fives.

For those of you who are befuddled by the sequence of events here’s the upshot. The Indian Government has planned to spend over 10,000 crores** on ICT in schools and higher education institutes with the belief that this would benefit teachers and students (we presume rightly or wrongly that other people were not the intended beneficiaries of these projects). Now, to verify this conjecture, the government decided to test it doing impact assessment or evaluation studies in four states only across approx 120 odd schools. The evaluation of ICT initiatives in Punjab was conducted by a leading engineering college there and that in Sikkim was conducted by a regional engineering college there. The two reports were essentially hard- ware audits and informed the reader what hardware was procured in contrast with what was ordered and in the various stages of disrepair they were in. * * `5,000 crore is being provided during the Eleventh Plan for providing ICT infrastructure in schools and another provision of `5,000 crore has been made in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan for ‘Education Mission through ICT’ for higher education institutes.

In Europe and many other developed nations, in addition to student performance in standard tests of achievement, ‘inspectors’ observe and evaluate school processes and procedures impartially to determine how a school is performing on parameters such as ICT implementation and integration

The evaluation report of schools in Meghalaya was conducted by a leading government institute in Shillong and was a voluminous one which covered everything from the history and geography of Meghalaya to the tribal nature of the population there. With over 90 percent of this large report (for which we had paid money) devoted to esoteric trivia, the last 10 percent or so declared that all was, by and large, well in the state of Meghalaya with minor points of improvement. Another leading private institute in Manipal conducted the evaluation of ICT interventions in schools in Kerala. This report also relied totally on qualitative opinions based on self-assessment based questionnaires. Overall, the four reports were well below par. While the world over educational interventions, ICT or otherwise, are judged by forming two groups – one an experimental group and one control group involving statistically equivalent populations, and then objective measures on student performance as assessed through standard tests are used as key parameters to judge the efficacy of interventions. In stark contrast, the reports made no such attempt.

In Europe and many other developed nations, in addition to student performance in standard tests of achievement, ‘inspectors’ observe and evaluate school processes and procedures impartially to determine how a school is performing on parameters such as ICT implementation and integration. As opposed to that, the reports looked at self-reportage – answers to questionnaires populated by the very people whose performance was being studied. Very dubious, to say the least

We started off by examining the rigour of evaluation studies in ICT projects in school education. Though we must admit that we were dismayed at the state of affairs, we are far more dis- appointed at the process of finding data and information. From the difficulty in getting information through RTIs, to the fact that though we got photocopies of obviously neatly word processed documents, we could not get hold of electronic versions of the same, the situations looks rather bleak. And even more critical, while all this information could have been proactively put online by the MHRD as part of the ‘Duty to Publish’ charter of the RTI which mandates the Indian Government to proactively publish information on its websites, we had to wage a long battle of sorts to get relevant information (the word relevant is
loosely used here).

Much hue and cry has been made over corruption in the government machinery. But, little attention is given to the colossal inefficiencies in the system as our experience with both the RTI process and the rather inferior quality of evaluation reports indicates. There is obviously a correlation between inefficiency and corruption, but we believe both need to be fought with equal zeal. As ordinary, concerned citizens, we have a duty to keep up the pressure.

There will be difficulty in the implementation of the RTE Act initially, but things will streamline and will yield expected result soon, says Rashmi Arun Shami, Commissioner-cum-Director, Rajya Shiksha Kendra (RSK) & Ex-Officio Secretary School Education, Government of Madhya Pradesh, in conversation with Mohd Ujaley

How do you ensure that every child gets value-based education from the elementary level?

We strongly believe that education should not be only learning concepts. Fundamentally, it should be ensuring that the values of the constitution are imparted to all children. Value-based education is very important if we want to have good citizens. Therefore, we try to incorporate it in our curriculum in an interesting way so that the children learn it at every step of their schooling.

Please tell us about the level of implementation of ICT in MP’s schools.

Since most of the schools are in remote areas, we have to adopt technology in order to ensure quality. We are starting smart classes where a good teacher from a school will address students of other schools which will be network connected. We also have a system called head start which is also working very well.

We are also looking at other technologies like satellite-based education for schools so that the shortage of quality teachers and lack of good resources is addressed.

What initiatives are you taking to enhance the quality of education?

Earlier, the government’s priority was enrollment, but now, access is nearly universalised. Therefore, the emphasis now is on quality.  We are making sure that we have more and more training programmes for our teachers’ capacity building. In these programmes, we will first make sure that they understand the curriculum well; second, we will try to build their capacity in terms of interaction in classroom; and lastly, develop leadership quality in our principals and head teachers so that they can run the institutions in a better way.

What was the major initiative your department took last year and what are the future plans for school education in Madhya Pradesh?

A lot of work was done in this regard in 2012. The most interesting was the Chief Minister’s direction to us to ensure quality in education. Therefore, we ensured that all government schools improve their quality. Now, every district is working on its own academic improvement plan based on its needs. We are implementing it from this year onward. They will take initiatives based on their
requirement while also ensuring delivery of results.

We have also started life skills education for adolescent girls. We have started Meena Radio with UNICEF that all adolescent girls listen to in school for 15 minutes and discuss the content of the programme in the next 15 minutes. There are also a lot of programmes for school children that are aimed at keeping up their interest in academics.

Although the Right to Education Act has come into effect, the private schools have not responded the way the government expected. Does that worry you?

Madhya Pradesh can take great pride in RTE because as compared to the rest of the country, our private schools have been very generous. We are the only state in the country which got an enrollment of 1,38,000 last year, and an equal number of students have been enrolled in our private schools too in the current year.

I understand that there are problems in some schools, particularly in English medium schools, because they insist on speaking English in the school and children from disadvantaged backgrounds face problems in integrating in the initial few months. We have made special efforts to ensure that children feel comfortable in the schools and at times, arrange extra classes for them to understand things better.

By Pragya Gupta, Elets News Network (ENN)

When students enter the job market entire reality gets changed for them from what they had studied throughout life. In India there is a major mismatch between the demand and supply of skilled workfore, creates unemployable youth and barriers in the country’s growth. Some of the reasons for this mismatch are said to be curriculum mismatch, and untrained trainers. We have trainers teaching from many years, but they have never had industry experience.

According to NASSCOM, over three million graduates and post-graduates are added to the Indian workforce every year. However, only 25 percent of technical graduates out of these and 10-15 percent of other graduates are considered employable by the rapidly growing IT and ITES segments. These figures reflect the major skill gap that we have across the country. India has the potential to become a global marketplace for the world to provide competent, talented and innovative workforce.

To acheive the objective of skilling India a lot of work and focus has been given by the government, private sector, and academia. The government has formed various alliances with the private sector and devised many policies, framework, and bodies to address the issue. Industries in India and outside are eyeing on India to fulfil the crunch of skilled workforce. This is a complex challenge to convert huge Indian population into skilled professionals with various geographical, economical, and psychological barriers that we have.

To bring industry and academia closer and share ideas on how they can work together for mutual benefits, digitalLEARNING is starting a series on inviting ideas from industry and academia people to bridge the gap. We have people from the industry and academia speaking on solutions to create an employable tomorrow.

MJ Xavier, Director, IIM Ranchi, tells how tablets are bringing value into India’s education system

Technology in education is not a new phenomenon. Most MBA programmes have made it mandatory for students to carry a laptop to the classrooms. Many institutes use a learning management system (LMS), such as Moodle, Open Class or Blackboard, for posting reading materials, assignments, announcements and grades. LMS is used to collect feedback on courses, and to also administer quizzes and examinations. All good colleges use overhead projectors to screen PPTs and educational films. Some colleges also use smartboards in their classrooms. Others have some form of automation of their academic modules that manage class schedules and provide a 360-degree view of their students. Few others use satellites and broadband facilities to offer courses through e-Learning platforms.

So what is so special about tablets? Is it overhyped or is there really some true value in brining tablets into the education space?

Primarily, people should understand the additional functionality that a tablet brings in as compared to a traditionalPC. Tablet PCs are essentially laptop computers that have the added functionality of touchscreen. This makes it possible to simulate paper and pencil: the user can use a stylus to write directly on the computer screen and create electronic documents. These pictures can be easily edited using traditional computer applications and also shared between the student and the teachers. This functionality to draw diagrams or write mathematical formulae is not available on PCs.

For a country like India, tablets can be a great boon as they can also help us combat the problem of faculty shortage

Providing one tablet each to studentsand the teachers will make it possible to create a collaborative learning environment using networking technology. Though tablets are used in the regular classroom setting, they are also ideal for e-Learning. Students can attend classes from their hostels, homes or offices. What the teacher writes on his tablet’s screen will be visible to all the students who have logged into a particular class session. The teacher can selectively pass on control of his screen to a student and ask him to complete a mathematical derivation he was doing in the class. The modifications made by the student will be visible to the entire class.

Effectiveness of learning can be maximised through tools for conducting immediate and meaningful assessment of student learning, and by providing realtime feedback and assistance. The effectiveness of this model comes from the ability of the instructor to monitor and interact with individual students while they analyse problems on the computer using an input device that allows them to write and manipulate formulas, and make sketches and diagrams. Tablets are handy for taking lecture notes, reading e-Books, conducting surveys and also giving feedback to the teachers.

Additionally, social media platform can also be built on tablets to allow students to engage in debates and discussions about the topics covered in the class. The participation can be enhanced by awarding marks for the posts and starting new threads based on how long they went and what new insights they brought to the class. This is a good way to enhance interaction and collaboration among students.

For a country like India, tablets can be a great boon as it can also help us combat the problem of faculty shortage. Recorded lectures can be delivered to a large number of students as packaged courses. Also, this will enable the best faculty to reach out to a large number of students in the country.

Studies have shown that tablet-enabled teaching leads to better learning and more interest in the subject taught. It also produces a favourable attitude towards the use of technology in learning. However, the mere adoption of technology does not guarantee improved learning outcomes or an enhanced educational experience. The key to successfully adopting tablets is to ensure that the devices are integrated into both the academic and social aspects of the course.

Lokesh Mehra, Director-Education Advocacy, Microsoft Corporation (India) Pvt Ltd

India faces two basic educational systemic problems at different levels: achieiving quantity along with quality. About 50 percent of our children at the primary level are at the risk of not entering or not completing secondary education due to lack of access to institutes.

The system expects teachers to “complete the curriculum” regardless of whether students have actually been able to learn. What our examination system actually examines with credibility is prob- ably rote memorisation. Secondly, how do you ensure that a first class student in Andaman and Nicobar has a higher or equivalent competency opposed to his peers in Delhi or Meghalaya. Possibly, the need of the hour is a standardised test for all– which could act as an indicator as the first step to arrive at learning gaps.

Some basic challenges that we are facing today include:

• Low investment in higher education was a paltry 1.25 per cent of GDP as per the UGC report on Higher Education at a glance.
• Faculty crunch: With nearly 33,000 colleges and over 600 universities in the country today, it estimated that even the IITs face a 25 percent shortage.
• Research inclination: Forty percent of Indian researchers are emigrating to pursue their research abroad (Source National Bureau of Economic Research US). In 2011, of the 14.6 lakh people who graduated from the colleges in India, only 12 percent pursued post graduate degrees and an abysmal one percent pursued research in the country. India has 7.8 scientists per 1,000 population compared to 180.66 in Canada, 53.13 in Korea and 21.15 in the US.

Recommendations for bridging the gaps

At government level

• Set short, mid, and long term outcome oriented goals at the policy level
• Expansion of research support – government should open up existing CSIR labs, leverage existing resources
• Public Private Partnerships for capacity building and teachers training – Train teachers on improving pedagogical practices. Corporates like Microsoft, Autodesk, Intel, Cisco, etc. have lesson plans and curriculum. But can the government creates a portal that streamlines all these efforts at a single location?
• Assessment mechanisms should be modified keeping how and what should be tested account. These mechanism should focus on maintaining quality standards that ensure global acceptance and not India alone

At institution and corporate levels

• Institute should upgrades laboratories and technology interventions with the assistance of corporate via collaborations, endowments and donations
• Adopt technology assisted learning in education, joint certifications to improve the efficiency, timeliness and transparency of the system.For example remote delivery of education for scale – Cloud/Continuing education to build material and curriculum repositories in a co-operative fashion
• Build technology incubators, chairs and have a consensus on patent regulatory perspectives

The government has set a target of achieving 30 percent gross enrollment ratio by 2020, which translates into more than 40 million students in higher education. This challenge requires radical new thought process and innovative solutions.
Surprisingly, in India there are only a handful of institutions, which have a clearly defined mission. Majority of the private institutions are driven by a singular focus on profits or surpluses, which means that they have corporate style leadership with focus on the bot- tom line. Such approach may work well for this segment of profit oriented schools, but will fail miserably for institutions that seek excellence and quality.
If institutions are headed by promoters as leaders, the faculty has almost no say in the governance of these institutions. But in public institutions, the challenge is that faculty lacks business acumen and perceives administration as clerical work. The need is to strike a fine balance between academic perspicacity and business efficiency.
In short manage industry-academic alliances like an investment portfolio–the more you nurture it; the better will be the fruits– this would enable us to bring back the era of Nalanda and Takshila.

Neeti Sharma, Vice President, TeamLease – IIJT

Although India’s higher education system contributes about 350,000 engineers and 2.5 million university graduates annually to our workforce, yet, at any given time, about five million graduates remain unemployed. A survey done by the McKinsey Global Institute shows multinationals find only 25 percent of Indian engineers employable, and according to NASSCOM, there are over three million graduates and post-graduates added every year to the Indian workforce. However, 58 percent of our graduates suffer some degree of unemployability and formal on-the-job- exposure is absent.
Industry, on the other hand, has had its share of challenges in getting its positions filled. Not only has it lowered its hiring standards at the bottom of the pyramid in order to be fully staffed, but it has also established training programmes to make hires productive. But this situation is unsustainable because it wrecks productivity and there is not viable model for employers to ‘manufacture’ their own employees.
This shortage of appropriately skilled labour across industries is being termed as the most significant challenge India will have to find solutions to.
We cannot predict the kind of jobs that would be available in the future, however, there is no stopping us from preparing for them. In the short term, we can create models that would work for job creation in industries such as Healthcare, Education, Hospitality, Sales, IT/ITeS, etc. However, in the long run, we need an ecosystem that effectively blends education, employability and employment frameworks. There are few ways we can develop skilled labour through our education system.

Increase the enrolment ratios in higher education: Part of the skills gap problem is that only a very small percentage of India’s youth go on to higher education. No more than seven percent of Indian youths between the age group of 18-25 go to college. Also, 40 percent of the people over the age of 15 are illiterate. On the other hand, we have universities not being able to keep up to the demand in hand. The best and the most selective universities generate too few graduates, and new private colleges are producing graduates of uneven quality.

“Employers would be happy to contribute to developing a shared model with teaching institutions for jobs and their requirements”

Curriculum to match industry requirements: The current pace of industry and labour market changes mean that some curriculum is outdated much before a student completes his/her education. Besides the domain skills, industry also looks at soft skills, team building, values and attitude of an individual at the time of hiring. Upgrading curriculum and keeping up with the changes is required of the institutes. Also, the curriculum needs to be made in collaboration with the industry, and if possible, joint certifications/degrees between the academic institutes and industry.

Apprentices that give workplace exposure: Students would benefit greatly if higher education faculty either had prior work experience or would be required to spend some time on short-term assignments with employers. But students would also hit the ground running with employers if part of their programme had apprenticeships with employers. Even if these apprenticeships are not in the industry or function where the students find permanent jobs, these stints will give them an appreciation for the realities of the workplace. The lack of organised apprenticeships in India (we have only three lakh apprentices relative to Germany’s six million and Japan’s 10 million) sabotages employability by undermining an effective vehicle of learning-by-doing and learning-while-earning.