New Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have a close association with spread of globalization and neo-liberal ideologies. The ICTD (ICTs for 'Development') domain is one where traditional development thinking been largely supplanted by neo-liberal techno-centric prescriptions relating to financial sustainability, business models, techno-centric solutions, critical role for business sector, irrelevance of investment in social change processes etc. It is not surprising that “ICT programs in schools” are thought best implemented with private sector leadership, through “BOOT1” models, where the state pays annuities to technology vendors for such implementation. The regular teachers of the school and the teacher educators in the education system have little role to play in the curricular or pedagogical aspects of computer learning and computer aided learning.
Against this backdrop, the study of two large 'ICTs programs in School Education' (IPSE) programs of neighboring Indian states reveals some interesting insights. The integrated model followed in Kerala's IT@Schools program, which focused on developing systemic in-house capabilities anchored around school teachers, has shown considerable success; in terms of higher teacher engagement, integration of computer learning with the regular learning processes, significant cost efficiencies, greater per-learner computer availability, and development of teacher networks and collaborative content creation processes, which support teacher professional development. The alternative 'outsourcing' or 'BOOT model, employed by Karnataka's Mahiti Sindhu program, does not show such significant outcomes. Funds were spent on vendor payments instead of building in-house capacities. The system itself did not benefit from this expenditure, and is unable to meaningfully sustain the program beyond BOOT period. Such outsourcing also builds dependencies of public education system on private players that can significantly distort pedagogical structures in inimical ways.
The Kerala model has some important learnings for governments seeking to implement computer education in schools, from both policy and program perspectives. Some of these are: integration of computer education into the regular systems of school education, the decentralization of teacher training as well as hardware/software support, and finally the free availability and local customisability of educational software, all of which have significant impact on the processes and outcomes of computer learning and computer aided learning in schools. Incorporating some of these principles and features into an integrated approach to 'ICTs in education' and replacing the dominant BOOT model may be essential for such programs to be meaningful and effective.
1Build Own Operate Transfer – this is a popular Public Private Partnership model, in which the private party builds the infrastructure, operates it for a period and then transfers to the public authorities