Laptops and India’s Education System

            My biggest surprise (so far) in Social Innovation and Enterprise has been the impact of simple yet innovative solutions to big problems. Some of the inventions we had seen in class have been so simple I thought to myself “Why didn’t I think of that?” At the end of class last week, Professor Zak brought out a more complicated piece of technology that I was thoroughly impressed with, a low-cost laptop computer. The cost of this laptop was said to be about $35 and would be a great tool for education in developing countries. Of course, I thought this was great. I paid a lot more than $35 for my laptop and I use it everyday for my own education. I can see how better (and cheaper) computer access would benefit low-income educational needs. Students can have access to the Internet where there are more free information and educational tools than they could imagine. However, after reading one of this week’s readings, Frugal Innovation: India Plans to Distribute Low-Cost Handheld Computers to Students, I’m not sure that distributing computers is the best next step in improving education in developing countries.

            Sanjay Dhande, the director of the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, points out that new technologies will not solve basic education needs and lack of resources including qualified teachers, educational housing, etc¹. According to an article by India in Education titled Illiteracy and Educational Problems in India, 30% of the population is illiterate, 50% of children in rural areas drop out before the 5^th grade, and most rural schools operate without electricity and running water. This article also states that the uses of high tech devices such as computers are extremely rare². These constraints and weaknesses in the Indian education system have led to poverty and unemployment with illiteracy percentages increasing. Would delivering laptop computers to low-income students be beneficial if many of these children can’t read or don’t attend school at all?

            I hope that the Indian government considers funding technologies/programs that teach reading and writing in addition to providing laptops. It is important for children to have the tools, but also the means for using them.

1.) “Frugal Innovation: India Plans to Distribute Low-Cost Handheld Computers to Students.” Scientific American. 28 Sept. 2010.

2.) "Illiteracy and Educational Problems in India." Socyberty. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2012. <http://socyberty.com/education/illiteracy-and-educational-problems-in-india/>.