Digital education in India to succeed it needs to become inclusive and reach the grassroots
For Digital education in India to succeed it needs to become inclusive and reach the grassroots
- Authored by Braja Kishore Pradhan, Founder-Aahwahan Foundation
India’s digital journey has been uniquely dynamic and different from others, following each individual’s unique journey and association with the digital formats they rely on. But on the other side is governments ambitious ‘Digital India’ programme whose aim is to include all the people from the length and breadth of the country irrespective of their language, beliefs, knowledge and others, to come forward and be a part of this ambitious programme. The merit of such programmes will depend largely on various factors in different parts and it’s final culmination. The measure of success for any programme launched by the government for its people is done generally keeping in mind the people it has been able to reach out to and the way it may have impacted their lives. The same goes for all other programmes implemented for them. To see how they have impacted and brought about a change is to measure its credibility with regards to its reach to the people in its grassroots and measure it through its impact on them.
Programmes like Digital India which emphasize on ensuring that education reach the grassroots and other such programmes can only make a substantial change if they are able to bring about a change from the grassroots where the real change can become narrative. Through the Digital India program whose primary focus is to bring education through digital format to, enable its easy access and reach has to first ensure that a basic infrastructure for the same is there. Without the basic paradigm in place such programmes will never fructify and never show any actual results on the ground which can bring about a change.
BRAJA KISHORE PRADHAN
receiving the prestigious Award 2023
For digital India to make an impact it needs to trickle down to the bottom or grassroots where a change needs to be brought about in people’s mindset with regards to usage of internet also for the purpose of education as it is by far the fastest medium of knowledge gathering and dissemination to help people become aware of what’s happening around them. With the recent pandemic on the rise and world over a lockdown phase that prevailed has opened our eyes to the fact, how powerful the use of internet has been in continuing life during this time. Schools, universities and colleges have heavily relied on the digital medium to carry on their regular education through various mediums and ensure that education is not affected for the students even on day-to-day basis through these mediums.
The invariable divide between rural and urban pockets with regards to digital medium has always been apparent even though there are a greater number of people in the rural regions compared to urban, the penetration of the same has been phenomenal like the way it has been in urban areas but the mindset has been a challenge. To bring about a change at the grassroots and inclusivity with regards to all these kinds of programmes cannot become a success for all. Therefore, the digital mediums of promoting education would be an easy way to translate this into action which can be done through mobile phones and laptops and help these students and their families understand how even the classrooms can be brought to the doorsteps. Efforts like setting up Zoom based classrooms and bringing school back to rural households has been a boon to both the children and also their families during this lockdown phase. Other initiatives like ‘Laptop Bank’, which started with the idea of providing internet easy access to poor and underprivileged children, has been a boon where they have been able to ensure full use of such measures and ensure their studies run smoothly especially for high school students who require help. Small efforts like these need to be initiated to bring both rural and urban people at par when talking about such programmes and making them a success at national level which is only possible with regards to inclusivity of all in these kinds of programmes which when taken forward can make a remarkable difference over a period of time.
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