Technology-Integrated Education: The Indian Experience

Abstract

The paper begins with an overview of the current state of education in India. This provides a context for the ensuing discussion of the extent to which modern computer-based information and communications technologies (ICT) in India are integrated into primary, secondary, and tertiary teaching and learning. Universal education in India for all children between the ages of 6 to 14 is defined as a constitutional right. If a child wants to go to school, the state must provide the opportunity. But it is not obligatory on the part of parents to send their children to school. Literacy rates are thus in some states sadly low. Technology presents a ray of hope, which as yet flickers fitfully like a short-wicked candle that is struggling to burn bright. But pilot technologybased projects here and there in India are showcasing the way to what could be a glowing future for a country that is already very much a power to be reckoned with amongst the community of nations. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations for successful technologyintegrated education.