| Prof Kesav Vithal Nori, Executive Director, Business Systems and Cybernetics Centre, TCS presents his views here on the challenges and impact of the Computer Based Functional Literacy project… |
Nearly 350 million Indians are illiterate. How does the Computer Based Functional Literacy initiative by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) seek to address this challenge?
Adult illiterates make up 15% to 20% of the population. The National Literacy Mission was set up by the Government to redress this situation. Government agencies have the resources to reach all adult illiterates, but the productivity of their teachers is low. The teachers are poorly paid and drop out rates are high among students. At this rate of progress, it could take anything between 15-20 years for the government to eradicate illiteracy. We need a large army of teachers to address this challenge. This was the reason for TCS to embark on developing CBFL software.
Experiments on the ground with CBFL showed that our slogan ’40 hours to literacy’ was reasonable. This was borne out through experiments in eight Indian languages. Teachers found that they could handle large numbers of students and more batches of learners. Even senior school children could become instructors as the teaching expertise was embedded in the software. The software itself demanded no computer literacy, except some ability to use the ‘mouse’. We had great hopes!
The CBFL prides itself with the potential of making 90% of India functionally literate in three to five years? How has the journey been so far and are you on course towards this historic goal?
We made big plans. However, things seldom go according to plan! The motivation levels in the field are poor, as are the rewards. Our core competence is in developing software, not in running such a programme. Apart from irregular students and discontented teachers, we had to deal with government officers who would get transferred periodically. Wherever we had some constancy, the results were more than heartening.
We were hardly qualified to sift between NGOs who wanted to help. Everyone promised us used computers, but only a scant few helped out. The logistics in getting computers, refurbishing, and transporting them to remote places was another underestimated problem. Getting necessary government clearance for discarded computers, imported by the software industry into export promotion zones for business purposes, was another logistic nightmare. TCS donated a large number of computers, but that cannot fill the needs of a national programme.
Our performance has been abysmal in eradicating illiteracy. Around 200,000 adult illiterates have benefited through the CBFL. That’s neither here nor there with respect to the size of the problem.
What makes the CBFL programme effective?
Technology is only a means to address important ends. As technical people, we can envision and fashion technologies that address important social needs.
This was our principal motivation. Technology is effective when its internal complexity does not get in the way of its absorption. A case in point is the telephone. Its usage is simple and intuitive. CBFL had this characteristic. The simplicity of CBFL helped in making it readily and easily usable by untrained people.
The computer was a big attraction in rural areas.
Technology is not worth it if it is not a productivity multiplier, and democratic with respect to minimum quality for all. What is both humbling and chastening however is that even good technology is not good enough. We need to have a collective will to address immense social problems.
What kind of partnerships or engagement has the programme managed to forge with different stakeholders?
The National Knowledge Commission reviewed CBFL and advised NLM to adopt as many technologies and techniques available to spread literacy. TCS has joined hands with NASSCOM, CII, and MSSRF to spread the use of this technology. The technology is being used in jails in several cities to provide inmates with literacy instruction. TCS volunteers also do their bit in spreading its reach. For Urdu, we have a partnership with Siasat Daily in a programme that is flourishing. Tata Steel has been a big experimenter, having done without computers in Jharkhand, and helping create CBFL for Oriya. IIIT Hyderabad and IIT Bombay are interested in using this as a base for technologies for supporting education. Discussions are also on with State governments of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Karnataka for spreading literacy.
Please share with us details of its international outreach.
On a visit to India, the then First Lady of South Africa, Madame Zanele Mbeki, visited one of our field sites. She was keen to see if CBFL could be used to address the needs of tribal languages in South Africa and invited TCS to visit them. Their problem was complex for they had no scripts for their tribal languages. A TCS team visited South Africa to standardise their coding in Roman alphabet. This provided a basis for them to effectively implement their own CBFL. We are also working towards completing the development of CBFL for Arabic and will be given to UNESCO Egypt and Moroccan government, as a start.
How has the government and its concerned bureaucracy responded to the programme?
On the whole it would be fair to say that our government is not dogmatic about any approach to address adult illiteracy. However, they have not been proactive in extending ICT to address such societal causes. The State Resource Centre in Andhra Pradesh has developed new primers and supporting computer software; but these are at variance with the principles and methodology provided by the older versions. We would be happy to transfer our technologies to NLM as it is based on their collateral and principles and will be easiest for them to absorb.
Would you like to share with our readers the impact of this programme, giving specific instances?
Literacy is more like a fundamental civil right. It empowers us to participate in the mainstream of society, giving us an uplifting independence. We found many heart warming instances of this point of view, mostly from women. One young lady found greater acceptance at home as she was able to participate in her children’s studies. Another found joy in her new found independence of not having to seek directions for her destination.
| On the whole it would be fair to say that our government is not dogmatic about any approach to address adult illiteracy. However, they have not been proactive in extending ICT to address such societal causes |
A bunch of school children on the outskirts of Bhopal were very excited about CBFL. The Madhya Pradesh government had put adult illiterates under each senior school student and gave these kids ‘guru dakshina’ for successfully turning these adults literate. These children felt CBFL could help create greater interest in their elderly charges! These experiences reassured us that not combining literacy instruction with livelihood earning skills was inessential.
| Prof Nori is one of the pioneers of the Tata Con Growing Up With An Unique Model Education, Research, And Industry Interaction : S Sadagopan, International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Bangalore
Please tell us about the vision behind setting up of IIIT Bangalore. How far has the institute succeeded in achieving this vision?” Within a span of nine years, the institute has established a name for itself. This is demonstrated by the fact that IIIT-B has been conferred the status of a Deemed University by the University Grants Commission. It has been recognised as a Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (SIRO) by the Government of India and is also the Principal Agency executing the INR 3 crore project on Telematics Demonstration as part of CAR (Core Committee on Automotive Research). The institute bagged Karnataka’s Best IT Export Award 2007 for its innovative employment programme for uplift of socio-economic weaker sections. What are the challenges confronting India’s higher education system today? How can Information and Communication Technologies help overcome these challenges? The role of ICT becomes important in such a scenario. Successful integration of ICTs leads to improved delivery, processes and quality control so that teachers can become more effective. What initiatives have been taken by your institute for integrating ICT in its framework? All the classrooms are ‘smart’, with high-speed data networks and large projection systems for audio and video. Video conferencing capabilities are built in using state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment. They include electronic smart boards, location-sensing microphones, and multiple LCD projectors, thus enabling an enriching learning experience. All students have a Wi-Fi enabled laptop for their exclusive use and we also have a Digital Library.
Do you think a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model will help in effective integration of technology in higher education? Thanks to the uniqueness of IIIT-B vis-a-vis its location at the Electronics City, involvement of Indian IT industry and the PPP model of IIIT-B, the Institute has a large set of linkages with industry in general and the IT industry in particular. The linkages come in the form of Chair Professorships like the ones by Daimler Chrysler in Automotive IT, ICICI, HP, and Canara Bank. Labs have also been funded by Industry over the years at the institute, for example, Siemens Vision Lab, Honeywell Automation Lab, Intel Planet and Community PC Lab, and HP IMS Lab. Texas Instruments has named IIIT-B as one of the elite institutes enlisted in their University Program. Companies like GE, HP, Huawei Technologies, Bank of India, Infosys, Siemens, Intel, Motorola, etc, have also endowed scholarships to support students. What do you think of the current employability quotient among graduates? In what ways can it be enhanced? Our institute has tied up with Radix Learning, for a professional certification programme ‘Yogyata’ aiming to enhance employability for the IT sector. Yogyata is offered as a blended-learning programme including classroom lectures, web-based, multimedia-enabled, self-learning courseware, Actionable Learning modules, synchronous and asynchronous online mentoring and collaborative learning. The curriculum is based on inputs from leading IT companies. Do you think India’s higher education system can be compared to the best in the world, especially the UK and US? If not, what are the reasons responsible for it?
Future Group to open up universities and schoolsFuture Group, an education-based group of the country, yesterday organised a press conference at the group office of Dhanmondi in the city to explain the aims, objectives and programmes of different companies of the group. It was also told, the Group will establish a university in Dhaka and an education-based TV Channel. It also will establish more than five hundred schools and colleges at least one in per upazila and will provide international standard of teaching. Honorary Chairman of the group Prof AMM Hamidur Rahman spoke to journalists at the press conference, while Managing Director of the Group Yeasir Ahmed, Chairman of Future Group Publication SM Jakir Hossain, Vice Chairman of the Publication Abdus Salim, Deputy Managing Director of the Group Rafiqul Islam, Supriya Kumar Chakrabarti, Wahiduzzaman, Sohel Ahmed, among others attended. Hamidur Rahman said that Future Group desires to be a partner in the future progress of Bangladesh. It is the only education-based group of companies in the country. It would like to contribute not only in the world of education and technology, but also in such fields as health entertainment and social work, he added. The press conference was told that it is the only education-based group of companies in Asia. Companies so far formed are Future Education Ltd, Future Publication Ltd, Future Olympiad Ltd, Future Training Institute Ltd, Future Institute of Language Studies and Research Ltd, Future ICT and Call Center Ltd, Future E-Tech Ltd. Placement consultants being searched for by B-schoolsIn the backdrop of a slowing economy, many recruiters have chosen to stay away from B-school campuses and several B-schools are looking to hire placement consultants to help their graduating batch find jobs. Few schools Mint spoke to were ready to share details of consultants they had approached or signed on and many denied the move outright. Placement consultants, however, claim that not just so-called tier II B-schools, but also some of the country's best-known B-schools are looking to do just this. 'It is for the first time that B-schools are appointing consultants. We have taken a couple of schools,' said Kris Lakshmikanth, chairman and managing director at The Head Hunters (India) Pvt. Ltd, based in Bangalore. Lakshmikanth declined to name the schools, but said they were top-tier ones. B-schools, apart from the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and a few others such as XLRI School of Business and Human Resources, Jamshedpur, Faculty of Management Studies, New Delhi, and Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai, are categorized as tier II schools in India. Several B-schools started their so-called placement season Grant Thornton is auditor to EducompIT education solutions provider Educomp today said it will appoint global consultancy firm Grant Thornton as internal auditor for the company, and will work with the government and regulators to reinstate credibility in the firm. Last month, media reports surfaced that Educomp had allegedly fudged turnover figures and promoters of the company had been trading in their own shares and in unquoted subsidiaries. However, the company rejected reports of promoters diluting their stake where share prices were ruling high and denied that there are fictitious assets on the books of the firm. 'The promoters' group has so far sold only about 5.07%. The promoters still hold 55.03 % in the company,' Educomp had said. Following the report the shares of the company took a hammering and plunged over 22 % in a single day on January 21. Shares of Educomp today plunged nearly 15 % to a low of INR 1,450 in the morning trade. It was later trading at INR 1,498.30, down 11.80 % in late afternoon trade on the BSE. 100% winter internship for maiden batch at IIM ShillongTop contenders to pick up students from IIM Shillong included Deloitte, E&Y, KPMG, and PwC. A number of students also opted for media and advertising firms which included the likes of Ogilvy & Mather, Viacom, Warner Brothers and Euro RSCG, among others. On the marketing front, recruiters included AC Nielsen, Cadbury and ITC. The students will be undergoing a two-month internship in January-February. IIM Shillong however, declined to comment on the stipends offered. While students showed a reluctance to join traditional i-banking biggies, core banking and asset management companies including Citigroup, HDFC, Standard Chartered, Axis Bank, Tata AIG, SBI Cap, Kotak Mahindra Bank, SREI-BNP Paribas were among those who turned up for the process. Other leading companies at the institute included Barclays, Deutsche Bank, HUL, TATA Capital, Eicher Motors, and GE India. Technology consulting drew keen interest as well, with Siemens, Bosch, and Headstrong participating. Manufacturing and supply chain companies like Ford, Honda, Lafarge, Hero Group, Cargo Partners made their presence felt on campus as well. PSUs included ONGC, NTPC, and Power Finance Corporation. Madrassas in UP ban co-educationDescribing co-education in schools as 'anti-Islamic and against the sharia,' Uttar Pradesh Board of Madrassa Education (UPBME) has banned the system in seminaries across the state. This has evoked strong reactions from clerics and community members who oppose the ban. Most community leaders say that with the limited means and scope of education of Muslim children, such restrictions will deprive them of learning. In his defence, UPBME chairman Haji Rizwan Haq said that in Islam, 'parda' (veil) is essential and co-education encourages 'be-pardagi' (women without veils). This, he says, flies in the face of sharia and since madrassas are centres of Islamic education, 'It's important to implement the sharia in these institutions,' said Haji Rizwan. In UP, there are more than 16,000 madrassas of which only over 1,900 are affiliated to UPBME. There are some seven lakh students. Specific courses framed on specialisations like Maulvi and Munshi (equal to matriculation), Aalim (BA), Kamil and Fazil (MA). Although only a few madrassas allow co-education, particularly in regions with specific institutions for Muslim girls, UPBME members believe that such a ban won't affect a majority of students. But some clerics, who oppose the ban, disagree. Education cluster seeks data centre services
An education sector cluster has been formed to tender for data centre housing, network and transition services. The cluster consists of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education Commission, Career Services and the National Library of New Zealand. According to request for proposal documents released this week, the objectives of the cluster are to establish a location for data centre ICT equipment, reduce procurement costs and minimise the costs of supplier contract management. All members require data centre housing services but only some need data network and data centre transition services. The cluster may contract with more than one supplier. Rather than having a single agreement, identical master agreements between each supplier and cluster member will be agreed on. The deadline for replies is Monday 23 February. More details are available on the Government Electronic Tenders website under ICCNZ reference 24817. Innovating Teaching With ICT : Harminder Kaur Suri, Kendriya Vidyalaya No 1, Ambala Cantt
What is your vision for quality education in Kendriya Vidayala, Ambala? Our mission is to promote equal education irrespective of all differences and strive for all round development of each and every child in our school. Our Vidyalaya is committed to skill enhancement of students and helping them realise their dreams. Our immediate aim is to simplify the teaching learning process in our school through technology and help the country inbridging the digital divide. We are also working towards making our school an e-KV.Please tell us about the curriculum and learning methodology followed in the school. The Vidyalaya is affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education and follows the syllabus prescribed by the NCERT. We follow a methodology of project based learning where students are also made to work on online collaborative basis through an educational website. What initiatives have been taken up by KV Ambala for integrating ICT in its teaching-learning process? In recent years, we have worked towards transforming our school into an ICT rich environment. The existing school infrastructure has been reoriented and revitalised using ICT. Official records like Transfer Certificate, official letters, student enrollment, payroll, etc are now managed online. The school website isalso regularly updated and maintained. Project based learning is implemented as part of the curriculum in all the classes from 3 to 12. We regularly conduct training for teachers of our school as well as in the region in various aspects of ICT like Web designing, use of interactive multimedia for classroom teaching, etc. Students of our school are encouraged to participate in various ICT based online and offline contests. Our teachers and students also prepare powerpoint presentations for their classroom interactions. We also hold online examination for students of XI and XII for Financial Marketing Scheme. What major challenges were encountered in integrating ICT in your school? Poor net connectivity as well as irregular power supply at times is a great hindrance. Students and most of the teachers do not have Internet enabled systems at their respective places. So, we have to visit cyber cafes on holidays or after school hours if there is some work. How do you built teachers’ capacity in rendering technology mediated education? The Vidyalaya provides training to all |




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