Computer literacy gets a BOOT-up

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

Public-private partnership paves the way.

Last Tuesday, One Laptop, One Child, a non-profit organisation which in 2005 had floated the idea of a $100-laptop for every poor child in the developing world, launched its product in India, albeit at $202. It said at least 12 companies have agreed to support the initiative under their corporate social responsibility programme.

However, the one entity that could have mattered, the Union Human Resources Development Ministry, refused to buy these laptops. Education Secretary Arun Kumar Rath says this would have been gross injustice to the taxpayers. As a large number of villages do not have electric power, these laptops run the risk of falling into disuse from day one. And those villages that do have power often find that there is nobody to fix computers once there is a problem. Again, the machines are junked quickly.

One Laptop, One Child will now try its luck with the states. But the question that needs an answer here is: Has the Centre lost a golden opportunity to take computers to schools in all the corners of the country?

Actually, it has covered a lot of ground with the innovative build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) model. In fact, of the 22,000 schools for which states have received central funds for ICT labs, 20,000 schools have already been covered under this scheme.

Under this model, states have tied up with companies like Educomp, Intel, NIIT and Compucom to get their computer laboratories set up, maintained and operated with the required faculty for a period of five years. The package even includes a generator to ensure that the laboratory doesn’t get grounded for want of power.

The BOOT model demands less annual budgeting and what the ministry used to give in one year is now given in five years, say ministry officials. Money, though, is hardly a problem. The human resources ministry’s budget for ICT in education has gone up from the Rs 100 crore in the previous Five-year Plan to Rs 8,000 crore in the Eleventh Plan.

Naturally, states are making a beeline for introducing ICT in schools, with Uttar Pradesh led by Chief Minister Mayawati being the latest to sign on. So far, a total of 20,000 schools have been equipped with e-labs. The final target is 115,000 schools. Uttar Pradesh has begun setting up labs in 2,500 schools, Rajasthan in 2,500, Andhra Pradesh in 5,000 schools and Bihar and Kerala in 1,000 schools each.

The Centre provides 75 per cent of the Rs 6,70,000 it costs to set up a computer laboratory, while the state pays the rest of it. At times, the companies quote higher prices of up to Rs 8,00,000 and the extra bill has to be picked up by the state.

In the southern states, while Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala have gone for BOOT, Tamil Nadu has purchased the computers for the 400 schools which have been equipped so far. Elsewhere in the country, Bengal, Rajasthan and the some North Eastern states too have purchased the computers.

The ministry is also working on preparing content for the ICT model of education for the 9th to 12th standard. While content providers like Educomp are providing it currently as the teaching is limited to computer literacy, the ministry plans to scale up the learning to link it to all aspects of curriculum. The ministry says it is looking at all the available material in the private and NGO domain before deciding on the most suitable.