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Education

Education moves online in India

By Alice Kok | 10 February 2009

Arjun Singh, Minister of Human Resource Development, has launched the country’s first e-education programme in Tirupati, the temple town of Andra Pradesh, India.

Known as ‘National Mission on Education (NME) through Information and Communication Technology’, the scheme will cost a total of US$950,000. NME aims to enhance access, equity and quality of higher education in the country by leveraging on ICT and providing e-content and connectivity to all institutions of higher learning. It is expected to involve active participation of state governments.

Under this scheme, the central government will provide new generation knowledge modules and e-content and bear 75 per cent of internet connectivity cost while the rest will be borne by the state governments. The two major components of NME is content generation with learning material digitised to e-contents, and providing connectivity and access devices to institutions and learners.

Singh said, “The main objective of the programme is to bridge the digital divide and use computing devices to help learners in the rural areas and in the higher education domain.”

“Continuous innovations are needed to develop new ICT tools that may facilitate teaching, learning and research, reduce distance among researchers and faculty members within the country and abroad, and reduce the cost of education without compromising on the quality.”

NME through ICT will work in close cooperation and collaboration with other missions such as the National Translation Mission, Vocational Education Mission, National Knowledge Network and Scheme of ICT @ Schools to avoid any duplication.

Computer infrastructure and connectivity will simultaneously be extended to over 18,000 colleges and 400 universities across the country.

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