The ‘integrated model’ of using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools for school education employed by the IT@School programme in Kerala has resulted in educational outcomes that are superior to those generated by the system of outsourcing ICT-based education employed by the Mahiti Sindhu programme in Karnataka, a recent study by Bangalore-based NGO, ‘IT for Change’, has found.
The Kerala model has resulted in higher levels of teacher engagement, integration of computer learning with regular learning, greater per-learner availability of computers, significant cost-efficiencies, development of teacher networks and collaborative content creation processes. All these have led to the “overall strengthening of the education system and better learning outcomes,” the report “ICTs in School Education—Outsourced versus Integrated Approach” notes.
In the other model—the BOOT route employed by Mahiti Sindhu—funds were spent on vendor payments instead of on building in-house capabilities. Hence the system itself did not benefit from the programme’s fund outlays. Thus, it is largely unable to sustain the programme beyond the BOOT period. Such outsourcing also seems to develop a more-or-less permanent dependency of the public education system on private players. This, the study argues, can “significantly distort the pedagogical structure” of public education.
In the Karnataka system, the students learnt directly on the computers and were facilitated by the support staff of the vendors. The teachers as such had a minimal role to play and had limited opportunities to learn. Furthermore, computer learning was seen as a stand-alone activity and the ICT curriculum was not linked to the regular curriculum. The competencies of the support staff of the vendor were also limited, the study found.
On the other hand, the IT@School programme relied on elaborate teacher-training structures within the public education system. Since the master trainers of IT@School were themselves teachers, they were able to conceptualise the best possibilities of using computers for learning different subjects.
The procurement, installation and maintenance of hardware is managed in-house. This has not only reduced costs, but had also led to the development of ‘mobile hardware clinics’ that visit schools to inspect and repair hardware. “Such high investment in teacher training is reflected in the high levels of confidence and self-esteem that teachers display,” the study report notes.
Use of FOSS
The IT@School model stresses on access to the Internet for supporting regular learning activities and special projects. Many teachers spend time on the Net to identify learning material that they can use in class. The use of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) is listed by the study as yet another strong point of the Kerala model. The success of the Kerala model with large numbers of computers and users can serve to address misgivings among some policy-makers about the stability of FOSS or about lack of adequate support facilities.
