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Thank you very much for your very informative cover story ‘25 Wonder Products and Services’ (EW June). I have been a dedicated reader of EducationWorld for the past five years and like you, I have been in deep despair about the future of the government-dominated Indian education system.

This is why I was cheered up by your cover story which says that the "dramatic growth and development of post-liberalisation India’s IT and related industries offer the possibility of a great leap forward in Indian education". Suddenly there is a possibility that new 21st century information communication technologies will help India bridge the education gap.

However as the prices mentioned in your product profiles indicate, these wonder technologies don’t come cheap and there is very little possibility of the great majority of government schools which can’t afford ordinary blackboards, drinking water and toilets for their students, investing in these wonder products and services.   

Therefore as repeatedly reiterated in EducationWorld, annual government expenditure (Centre plus states) needs to be immediately doubled to 6 percent of GDP to enable government schools which host 80 percent of India’s children, to radically improve their infrastructure and purchase some of the exciting products and services detailed by you.

I am aware that some educationists argue that it’s quality of expenditure rather than quantum of provision which needs to be improved. But I don’t agree. Unless the physical infrastructure and facilities of schools are upgraded, the quality of instruction won’t improve.

The cover story titled ‘25 Wonder Products and Services’ (EW June) was interesting and informative. However I wonder how many of these ‘wonder products’ are really being used in classrooms to improve teaching-learning standards? For almost all government schools, which enroll 80 percent of India’s school-going children, these products are out of reach. With most of them lacking even basic facilities like pucca buildings, toilets and drinking water, it’s nonsensical to expect them to invest in these hi-tech products.

I suggest that in future you compile a list of low-cost wonder products which even low-end private and government schools can afford.

I have been in the education field consulting with several high profile schools during the past decade, and quite frankly I wasn’t aware of many of the products you have featured (EW June). Now I have a good grasp of the various technologies and gadgets available to improve classroom interaction and learning. I will preserve this copy of EW as a readymade resource.

Congratulations once again to the editorial team for compiling a valuable feature. I look forward to reading more such features in EducationWorld.

I am a regular reader of EducationWorld. I was particularly impressed by Shuchi Grover’s article titled ‘Efficient technology usage in classrooms’ (EW June). She clearly exposes the lack of initiative and creativity in India’s teachers in effectively utilising IT assets, even if schools purchase them.

I feel this is because in India, in-service training of teachers is perfunctory and hurried. Moreover since teacher training is paper-based, teachers are reluctant to use computers and are afraid of technology, throwing up their hands at the smallest problem, such as a paper jam in the printer or a hung system. If we have to ensure that children derive the vast benefits that modern information communication technologies offer, ICT-intensive teacher training is vitally important. Frequent in-service training of teachers with special focus on using ICT in classrooms, is the best strategy to make teachers shake off their technophobia.

I read with interest the education news report on Aligarh Muslim University’s steady decline (EW June). Even if AMU was conceived as a secular institution by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan as alleged by your correspondent Vidya Pandit, surely this great educationist didn’t want to deny the neglected Muslim community of quality education opportunities. If St. Stephen’s College, a minority institution, can reserve 40 percent of its admission capacity for Christian students, why can’t AMU reserve seats for the Muslim community?

Please accept my heartiest congratulations for publishing very useful information on each and every subject related to education in EducationWorld. However I have a few suggestions to make: please mention the ISBN details of the books reviewed on the books page as it will help readers to easily trace them. Moreover several columnists of high repute contribute to EW; please publish their e-mail identities so that readers interested in knowing more about their area of expertise can contact them.

Col. Amarjeet Singh
Headquarters, Northern Command