Key CHalleNgeS iN ProVidiNg iCt BaSed eduCatioN iN iNdia
We spoke to Siddharth Chaturvedi, Director, AISECT, about the various challenges in providing ICT based education to the Indian masses and how latest technology trends can shape education in future
In a developing country like India, lack of technology, internet access and qualified trainers act as the biggest challenges in providing ICT-based educational services to the masses, especially to the rural masses. According to a latest report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and the Indian Market Research Bureau (IMRB) released in February this year, mobile internet penetration stood at 23 per cent in the country, with only 9 per cent of rural people having access to the technology. The data clearly indicates the slow rate of internet penetration in the country, especially in the remote corners of India. Adding to this, shortage of technical equipments and eligible teachers capable of imparting ICT-related content adds to the problem. “However, with 2010-2020 declared as the ‘Decade of
Gearing the Barriers
– Innovations’ by the Government of India 6 years back and the initiatives like digital literacy going on full pace by the Modi-led NDA Government, I believe in the coming few years, the scenario of e-learning will take a complete 360 degree turn in the country, especially in remote areas,” said Siddharth Chaturvedi, Director, AISECT. “Availability of quality content in regional languages also acts as a barrier for delivering ICT based education in rural areas,” he added. According to Chaturvedi, the present government needs to conduct Training of Trainers ( ToT) for generating resourceful personnel to undertake various initiatives at K-12 to higher level education. For tackling the content problem for schools, Eduvantage PRO Interactive Multimedia Content was launched by AISECT with an objective to provide low cost and high quality e-learning modules and solutions to the K-12 students in the semiurban and rural schools.
“In higher education space, our higher education institutions like the AISECT University (AU), Dr. C.V. Raman University (CVRU) and SCOPE Group of Institutes have been offering digital learning solutions to the students,” said Srivastava. “With advanced laboratories, modern equipments, lecture halls equipped with video conferencing, digital classrooms and a complete digitized library service equipped with the DELNET software, we offer a technologically advanced learning