This paper discusses the background, strategies, outcomes, challenges and learnings of Kishori Chitrapata, a project of IT for Change that addresses the learning needs of out-of-school adolescent girls through innovative uses of ICTs such as video, radio and computing technology.
The…
This article looks back at the Mahiti Manthana project, a joint project of IT for Change and Mahila Samakhya Karnataka which explores how women's mobilisation and organising processes can be strengthened through new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) systems. It draws conclusion about the learnings brought by…
The Department of Public Instruction, Government of Karnataka and Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, have initiated an ICT programme for all the high schools of the state. This entire programme, including the classroom training, has been outsourced. However, our research suggests that vendors are finding it challenging…
The study of two large 'ICTs programmes in School Education' (IPSE) programmes of neighbouring Indian states reveals some interesting insights. The integrated model followed in Kerala's IT @ Schools programme, which focused on developing systemic in-house capabilities anchored around school teachers, has shown considerable success; in terms of…
IT for Change conducted a study on the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) programmes in schools in the Yadgir and Sedam blocks of Yadgir district (Karnataka, India). The research team visited around 30 schools to study the Computer Aided Learning Program (CALP), Mahiti Sindhu (MS), ICT @ Schools Phase 1…
This paper was written for Plan International's Annual Report, entitled 'Because I am a Girl'. For girls and young women, especially in the global south, ICT access and its effective use provide new avenues in their journeys towards economic empowerment. This paper unpacks some typical myths about ICTs, gender and empowerment in order to…
ICT programmes in schools in India have largely failed to achieve their goals of positively impacting learning processes and outcomes in schools. Implemented usually through 'PPP' (Public Private Partnership) models, these programmes have been treated largely as silos. Schools and teachers have not seen computer learning as…
2008 - National Policy on ICT in School Education - first draft
In January 2008, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) released a draft National policy on ICTs in school education. This policy, drafted by a committee that included big businesses interested in the 'ICT in education' space was hugely problematic. The draft…
The 2008 report of the Global Information Society Watch surveys the national deployment of ICT infrastructure and its implications for development. It gives a detailed analysis of steps which need to be taken to improve ICT connectivity in rural areas. IT for Change wrote the chapter on India, which looks at the theme of access, focusing on the…
This paper was prepared for the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development (UNGAID) Global Forum on Access and Connectivity: Innovative Funding for ICT for Development (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) in May 2008 The analysis captures the significance of a rights-based approach to ICTD, which can provide a new point of…