| Education growth – Using e-learning to bridge the gap |
| Wednesday, 03 March 2010 | ||
Change is paramount Globally education has received a lot of attention in the last decade. In 2000, it was estimated that all children in the world would have access to primary schooling by 2015. However latest updates show that it is highly unlikely that these promises will be met. Current efforts and planning are inadequate and falling short of all promises. So what is going wrong?
This is further complicated when it comes to countries in sub-Saharan Africa, that are plagued by internal conflicts, little or no priority to education, poverty, lack of investors, etc. India is another case in point as the government is willing to invest funds, yet faces under achievement when it comes to education goals. The education sector in the country is looking for a big change as the Right to Education Act comes into force on April 1, 2010. The recently announced annual budget allocated Rs 310,360 million to education. The allocation last year was pegged at Rs 269,000 million. This now constitutes about 4.5% of the GDP. The increase in amount is just indicative of interest that the education sector is commanding, however as explained above, efforts are falling short and not always in the right direction. What education needs along with funds are, long term policies, better plans, adequate manpower, infrastructure and more technology. So how can we ensure better achievements? To promote education inclusivity, a combination of efforts across various levels – policy makers, fund managers, stakeholders, decision makers, etc. is of paramount importance. In a developing economy such as India, where the private sector is playing an important role in almost each sector of the economy, participation in education is very low. This low penetration can be attributed to strict government regulations, constantly changing policies, promotion of education as a not-for-profit initiative, among others. While it is important for the government to maintain control over rules and regulations, even decide on the private players that can be allowed into this critical sector, it is equally important that the quantum of their contribution be recognized. All plans and policies should include these estimates. Plans today focus on allocation of funds. What is needed more is an approach that establishes and enumerates goals, estimates efforts, and an action plan on how to achieve each one of those. Next in line would be resource allocation, not just monetary, but also infrastructure and manpower to be followed by periodic updates. Deviations from action plan need to be strictly dealt with, anomalies evident as the plan progresses be given due attention to ensure complete compliance. Assistance from private sector in implementation should be encouraged to adhere to timelines. The use of technology to spread education is already proven. Initial investment is huge, however with availability of funds not really being a problem, it is the action plan and adaptability of e-learning modules that plays the most important role. The example in the box above indicates the possibilities in innovation and progress. While each geography is unique in its needs, it is important to realize that meeting those requirements is possible. For instance both India, and Africa need to develop plans to utilize e-learning in their education road map with an understanding that Internet penetration is very low. Yet the fast pace of spread of communication network should in no way be undermined. Policies that can keep up with this communication spread are needed. Rural areas are enabling access to the web world through community centers and they can appoint caretakers to use Internet to download lessons and prepare CBT courses which can be distributed to schools in surrounding areas. These centers that are used by the rural populace to access information, can be developed further to enable and include education. Teacher training, to ensure quality of education, can also be conducted through these modules. Most e-learning companies already have modules that cater to K-12 demands, and are scalable. These can be used by governments to ensure that all students have access to at-least basic education. Public-private partnerships to increase the spread of education can be developed further. E-learning allows for customization and localization and has immense capacity to scale up as per requirement. Value addition in terms of adding to content as and when needed, creating courses that can be used by students time and again, at any time of the day are options that are already available and yet not utilized. Going forward It is imperative that to even reach anywhere close to the estimates, the efforts have to increase manifold. Fast changes in policies, use of technology to ensure complete adherence to deadlines and improve quality are imperative. e-learning with its unique features of localization, fast adaptability and capacity to scale up will ensure that global education goals are achieved. A road map on education devoid of e-learning may not really sum up to much. |
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