ICT in School Education (Primary and Secondary)

The United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (Md Gs) two and three are about achieving

universal primary education and promoting gender equality, respectively. The Md Gs in education

are defined in terms of participation and completion of primary education by all children and the

elimination of gender discrimination in education. Despite the continued efforts of the various

Governments on universalizing the primary and elementary education, through a wide range of

programmed and schemes, access to quality education continues to be an obstacle in the

achievement of the education goals.

For instance, in India, during 2004 – 05, while the Gross Enrollment Ratio for children enrolling in

classes I to VIII was 97 percent, the Drop-out Rate for the same classes was as high as 46 percent.

The situation is more worrying at the secondary education level (classes IX and X), where the

enrollment is recorded at 53 percent and the Drop-out Rate is as high as 60 percent. Efforts so far

have addressed to a considerable degree, the concerns of equity as well as that of regional parity,

however concerns of quality have not received adequate attention. Recognizing this, the

Government of India’s flagship education programmed at the primary level - the Sarva Shiksha

Abhiyan (SSA) - has streamlined its focus on ‘quality’. The situation is similar across the South Asia.

As is being increasingly articulated, if after spending large sums of money on programmes and

schemes, countries have not become fully literate, it is time that innovative and cost effective

methods be put in place to address the problem of education in these countries2. While this is a

larger problem and points to the need for reform in the educational systems of these countries at

various levels - pedagogical, curricular, as well as institutional, the emergence of various

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and their increasing acceptance and adoption

by society provide unique opportunities and could potentially promote education on a large scale.

While there is no conclusive research to prove that student achievement is higher when using ICTs

in the education space, either in the developed or developing countries, there is a general

consensus among practitioners and academics that integration of ICTs in education has a positive

impact on the learning environment. It is understood that in diverse sociology-economic and cultural

contexts ICTs can be successfully employed to reach out to a greater number of students, including

those to whom education was previously not easily accessible, and help in promoting learning,

along with exposing students to the technical skills required for many occupations.

ICTs act as and provide students and teachers with new tools that enable improved learning and

teaching. Geographical distance no longer becomes an insurmountable obstacle to obtaining an

education. It is no longer necessary for teachers and students to be physically in proximity, due to

innovations of technologies such as teleconferencing and distance learning, which allow for

synchronous learning.3

ICTs in schools provide an opportunity to teachers to transform their practices by providing them

with improved educational content and more effective teaching and learning methods. ICTs

improve the learning process through the provision of more interactive educational materials that

increase learner motivation and facilitate the easy acquisition of basic skills. The use of various

multimedia devices such as television, videos, and computer applications offers more challenging

and engaging learning environment for students of all ages.4 A study conducted by the International

Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) indicated that 80 percent of its participants

felt more aware and empowered by their exposure to ICT in education, and 60 percent stated that

the process of teaching as well as learning were directly and positively affected by the use of ICT.5

Twenty-first century teaching learning skills underscore the need to shift from the traditional

teacher-centered pedagogy to more learner-centered methods. Active and collaborative learning. 

Teachers and Online Learning Activities

ICT is an important source, which teachers may use to keep themselves abreast of emerging issues,

share knowledge, and reach out to students. Several portals are being developed where teachers

can network and share information including best practices. In India, the Sakshat portal developed

by the Government of India provides teachers an opportunity to connect with each other and share

experiences. The Teachers of India, an online portal developed by the Azim Premji Foundation and

the National Knowledge Commission, was created with the objective of providing a forum for

teachers to freely interact with each other across languages, facilitate the sharing of insights and

best practices of teachers across the country and provide access to resources, information, and new

experiments in education from all over the world in all Indian languages.

ICT in School Education in the Developing World

In the developing world, ICTs are used largely to increase access to and improve the relevance and

quality of education. ICTs have demonstrated potential to increase the options, access,

participation, and achievement for all students. The unprecedented speed and general availability

of diverse and relevant information due to ICT, extends educational opportunities to the

marginalized and vulnerable groups, among the other disadvantaged.

ICTs in the developing world have the potential to enhance the education experience for children

who:

· live in rural and remote-rural locations

· have special learning needs

· have physical disabilities constraining their access to schools

· have dropped out and/or have kept themselves out of school for various reasons.

· aim for excellence and fail to get satisfied in the current system

Teachers and learners in the developing world are no longer solely dependent on physical media

such as printed textbooks which are often times outdated. With today’s technology, one even has

the ability to access experts, professionals, and leaders in their fields of interest, around the world

at any given time.7

In India, various ICTs have been employed over the years to promote primary and secondary

education. These include radio, satellite based, one-way and interactive television, and the Internet.

However, there have been enormous geographic and demographic disparities in their use. 

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