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Photo: Ramesh Sharma

Driven by technology Not all children can afford to be tech-savvy in this divided society

When Ramana, a bright student of standard III from a public school, was invited by his teacher Subramanyam to fiddle with computer, the boy was thrilled. “It’s wonderful,” says he with a visible delight. “I can do so much with a computer.” Fascinating is what he says about working on a computer. Ramana paints, uses Microsoft Word and a spreadsheet to show results of his classmates’ exams. Quite amazed at the pace at which the kid is picking up computer skills with virtually no instruction, Subramanyam says: “it is very encouraging to note how fast the kid is learning computer skills. Many children from poor economic background are also intelligent but do not have access to computers. Given a chance, they will surely excel.” Computers open up new vistas and create tremendous opportunities with the ease with which they can be used, not to speak of possibilities like self-learning. “There is this computer technology where children and adults like me can earn, find their voice, ply their trade and be off to an entertaining learning process,” says Satyanarayana, a farmer who bought the machine for his son recently. “Ever since my father bought computer, I have been playing games, listening to music and learning so many new things,” chirps Ravindranath, a seventh grade student.

Explaining the different phases of economic activity and the need for competent workforce, S. Rajendra, a lecturer in sociology, observes: “We should not miss this communication age. Though we missed industrial revolution, we can still take a leap forward to benefit from the era of enormous opportunities. For that to happen, we must start with computers much early, say at primary school level,” he opines. “The government has done a good thing by providing computers to even primary schools. “In some public schools, computer classes begin only from sixth grade. They must advance it from class one,” he says without mincing words.

Apart from computer education, “we need very good mathematical skills so that the students can go on to learn more from computers,” says Madhavachari, a lecturer in mathematics.

The IT boom has given us a platform to launch into bigger things. “But for IT, we would be facing a major social crisis,” observes Madhu, an industry observer. In urban areas, the youth have availed themselves of this opportunity, unlike their peers in rural pockets where “there is greater need for investing more resources. This is a grave threat to the development process. Children studying in remote or tribal areas will not be in a position to take on their urban counterparts after finishing their primary education,” he remarks with serious concern.

Finding resources for projects that try to bridge the digital divide is no big problem. “By providing low-cost solutions to the problem of access to computers from a very young age, we can raise a generation of future workers that can do wonders,” says Suman, an education software programmer, adding: “And experiments like ‘hole-in-the-wall’ conceived and executed by Dr. Sugata Mitra will solve the problem.”

R. Deepak is a computer analyst, who feels the urgent need for initiatives involving public and private sectors, academic institutions and villagers to bridge this divide.

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