Countries: India
SUMMARY OF PROJECT DESIGN
BRIDGES TO THE FUTURE INITIATIVE - INDIA
There are more illiterate individuals in India than any country in
the world, and yet at the same time India has highly competent human
resources as well as a strong base in information and communication
technologies (ICT). Nonetheless, even though India has made major strides
over recent decades — increasing by six-fold the number of children
enrolled in primary schooling — recent government analyses show
that more than 25% (59 million school-aged children) are not now in
school, and probably a larger number of older youth received little
or no schooling at all. In light of these dramatic statistics, and a
growing concern for universal basic education, the Government of India
is moving forward with a variety of plans to increase access to education
for all sectors of Indian society. Another dimension of the concern
for increased quality of education in India is the relative lack of
ICT resources and access in the schools. Thus, a key element in the
BFI project design is to take advantage of ICTs to assist in all dimensions
of the project.
The Bridges to the Future Initiative (BFI) in India seeks
to improve the basic skills, literacy and entry vocational skills of
out-of-school youth and young adults in poor communities in several
India states. More specifically, the BFI will focus principally on assisting
youth and primary school dropouts who seek to re-enter the regular primary
cycle of schooling, as well as others who may never have attended school
and those in alternative schools or young adults in continuing and vocational
education programs. To achieve these goals, the BFI will employ the
innovative and cost-effective ICT tools and methodologies to improve
the quality of teaching, learning in basic and vocational education,
and to assist community members in obtaining information resources that
can improve their daily lives. At the same time, it is expected that
teacher training tools developed within the BFI will have an important
impact on school teachers as well as those who work in continuing and
vocational/technical education.
A key assumption of the BFI-India approach is that the digital divide
is not purely one of access to hardware, but rather an education and
skills divide separating the rich and the poor. Thus, literacy and technological
literacy need to be simultaneously addressed with information and instructional
resources that can be delivered via ICTs in a culturally appropriate
manner (in a variety of appropriate languages) for a cost far lower,
and at higher quality, than has been possible heretofore. In order to
meet this broad target, the BFI will include three components of implementation:
(1) development of ICT-based software tools to improve basic education,
literacy, and entry level vocational education for teacher training;
(2) creation of community learning and technology centres (CLTCs) for
social and economic information resources (e.g. health, agriculture,
HIV/AIDS prevention, etc.) and lifelong learning; and (3) implementation
of advanced ICT-supported services to disadvantaged regions..
To achieve synergy and cost efficiencies, the BFI will take the form
of a collaborative partnership. At the official level, the BFI will
be situated under the patronage of MHRD and state education agencies
(initially in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, where where formal MOUs
were signed in May 2001). At the operational level, the BFI will be
a partnership of International Literacy Institute, Schoolnet India,
World Links, Indian Council for Social Science Research, National Open
School, Indira Gandhi National Open University and others. In terms
of near-term implementation, the BFI will work closely with secondary
schools located in disadvantaged communities throughout India, as they
will form the basis for the CLTCs. State education authorities will
provide the major part of ICT infrastructure, which will be use in after
school and weekend hours to support learning and information resources
for the poor. Schoolnet India and World Links, will provide substantial
inputs in both software instructional design and in teacher training,
with international leadership and technical assistance from the ILI.
The BFI project in India is part of a global BFI initiative to
utilize ICT to improve literacy and basic education in countries with
emerging economies. Other countries which are part of the initial BFI
effort include South Africa, Ghana and Mexico. The BFI in India expects
to use ICT multimedia tools and distance education to enhance the capabilities
of 30,000 teachers and improve basic skills of nearly six million learners
by the end of the five-year project plan, working in a diverse array
of schools as well as in non-formal education programs for the most
disadvantaged. In addition, this research-based approach will provide
a model for the cost-
effective use of ICTs for education and economic development across
varying regions in India.
Support for the preparation and implementation of BFI-India has been
provided by J.P. Morgan Chase, UNESCO, Unicef, OECD, Ford Foundation,
and others.
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India Press Release:
30 May 2001--INDIA--Signing
of a Memoranda of Understanding between International Literacy
Institute and State Governments of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka--Hyderabad,
19 May 2001/Bangalore, 25 May 2001
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