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Volume V
Methodology
Survey of ICTs for Education in India and South Asia, Methodology 2010
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About the Report
The Survey on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Education in India and
South Asia was commissioned by infoDev to be undertaken by PricewaterhouseCoopers,
India. The Survey is a third in the series after similar surveys for the African and Caribbean
regions completed in 2008 and 2009. The main objective of the Survey is to create a
consolidated source of information on the experiences of using ICTs for Education in the
South Asian region and to provide a framework of reference for policy-makers.
The survey report is in five volumes, the first Volume is an extended summary which
captures the main findings of the survey. Volume II is a series of Country Studies profiling
the policy environment and major initiatives using ICTs for education for each of the eight
South Asian countries – India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan
and Sri Lanka, with a more detailed focus on India. Volume III is a set of Case Studies for
India and Pakistan. For India the case studies include detailed studies of ICT initiatives in
the education space in five states. For Pakistan the role of ICTs in Open and Distance
Education and Teacher Education has been profiled as two case studies. Volume IV is a
series of thematic papers that address key issues across the focus countries in an attempt to
provide a horizontal, comparative view of the subject in the eight focus countries, with an
emphasis on India. The fifth volume captures the details of the survey process including the
research methodology, list of interviewees, details of meetings held etc.
Structure of the Methodology This volume, Volume V of the Survey of ICTs for Education in India and South Asia, seeks to
provide a detailed report on the methodology adopted while conducting the survey. It
includes - list of documents and websites consulted, list of stakeholders interviewed, details
of meetings held and details of workshops conducted.
Overview of Methodology The Survey has primarily been based on secondary research and is thus not an exercise in
primary data collection. For each country we have studied in detail the following category of
documents:
- Education Policies and specific schemes
- ICT Policies and specific schemes
- ICT for Education Policies and specific schemes
- Websites and documents of Education Departments, ICT Departments and other
related institutions
- Websites and documents of Non Governmental Organizations, Corporations and
other agencies active in the education technology space
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At the outset of the Survey in August 2009 a stakeholder workshop was conducted to
introduce the Survey to a wider set of stakeholders and build a platform for sustained
dialogue on the proposed survey. At this stage, a Wiki Profile for the project was created
under which all possible information including a bibliography was uploaded and
stakeholders were invited to participate and contribute to the survey.
In addition, the research team conducted telephonic discussions, audio and video
conferences as well as questionnaire based interviews with over 75 key stakeholders in
India and other focus countries. In the case of India, the team also visited several sites
where ICT in education initiatives were being implemented. Further, on completion of the
survey each country study was circulated amongst key stakeholders in the country to
validate the information captured in the study.
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Approach
The execution of the survey proceeded through three distinct phases, namely:
1. Design
During the design phase, the overall survey process was mapped out. The team started
building a stakeholder database and a bibliography of resources. The format for
questionnaires was also finalized at this stage. A stakeholder workshop was conducted to
introduce the survey to a wide range of stakeholders. Following the workshop a Wiki Profile
was created to invite stakeholders to participate. Details of this phase are given below:
1.1 Initial Stakeholder Workshop
To introduce the Survey to a wider set of stakeholders and build a platform for sustained
dialogue on ICT in the education space in India and South Asia, a stakeholder workshop was
conducted on August 10, 2009. Apart from discussing best practices, experiences, key
constraints and other relevant issues in the use of ICT in education, the survey also sought
to finalize the key thematic areas to be covered for the survey and the Indian states that
need to be studied in detail. The workshop was attended by a range of stakeholders relevant
to the study including government officials, NGO representatives, academia and private
companies in the field of content development and capacity building. A list of participants is
attached as Annexure I.
1.2 Wiki Profile
Following the initial stakeholder workshop, a Wiki Educator profile for the survey was
created (Wiki Educator Link: http://wikieducator.org/ICT4SouthAsiaEd). All relevant
Survey of ICTs for Education in India and South Asia, Methodology 2010
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information including a bibliography of resources was added on to the profile. The purpose
of this exercise was to introduce the survey to a wider set of stakeholders and to provide a
sustained platform for interaction between stakeholders. The profile link was shared with a
large number of stakeholders and they were encouraged to participate.
2. Execute
After completing the preliminary research and finalizing the thematic topics and sub
national level case studies, the team began conducting the secondary research as well as
telephonic discussions and questionnaire based interviews with stakeholders. This was
followed by preparing the draft Survey Reports and Country Studies. Details of this phase
are given below:
2.1 Secondary Research
To gain an overall perspective of the policy framework in the focus countries, the team
consulted relevant policy documents and government websites. A detailed list of the
documents is attached as Annexure II. Apart from studying the policy framework of the
South Asian countries, other documents and websites were also consulted to gain an insight
into the socio-economic condition and the ICT and Education scenario of the countries. To
study the various initiatives, websites of NGOs, Corporations and other agencies active in
the education technology space were visited. As for the thematic essays, documents
pertaining to policy coherence in the application of ICTs in education, ICT in school
education, capacity building for ICTs in education, gender equity and use of ICT in education
and ICT in non formal education were studied in detail.
A bibliography of all resources is attached at relevant sections of the survey reports.
2.2 Stakeholder Interaction
In order to validate the information collected through the secondary research and to
broaden our understanding of the use of ICTs in the education space in the focus countries,
questionnaire based interviews; telephonic and face to face conversations and audio and
video conferences with relevant stakeholders was carried out. In the case of India, the team
also visited several sites where ICT in education initiatives were being implemented.
Questionnaire Based Interviews
Questionnaires were sent out to 75 stakeholders in India and other focus countries. The
stakeholders included key representatives from the government, NGOs, private companies
and academia from schools and other institutions.
Telephonic Conversations and Conferences
Telephonic conversations and audio and video conferences were conducted with key
stakeholders when gaps in the survey needed to be filled. The focus of these interactions
was primarily to gain a perspective on:
Current level of policy implementation
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On-ground education technology initiatives
Common constraints faced by the country in implementing ICT in the education space
Meetings and Field Visits
In the case of India, the team met with many key stakeholders, this was done primarily to
substantiate the sub-national level case studies and provide an in-depth analysis of the ICT
initiatives implemented at the state level. For the same purpose, the team also visited
several sites were ICT initiatives were being implemented.
A detailed list of all stakeholders interacted with and sites visited during the survey process
is attached as Annexure III
3. Report
At this stage, after drafts of the survey reports had been finalized, a stakeholder workshop
was organized on April 21, 2010 to present the drafts to key stakeholders. The workshop
opened with a presentation on the key findings of the survey after which the floor was
opened to questions. Drafts of the survey reports were then circulated amongst the
attendees to get their feedback. Relevant sections of the reports were also circulated
amongst key stakeholders in the South Asian countries to validate our findings. After
receiving feedback from the stakeholders, the drafts were edited and the final survey report
was submitted.
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Annexure
Annexure I: List of Participants for Initial Stakeholder Workshop - August 10, 2009
Name Designation Organization
1 A. S Seetharamu Domain Expert PricewaterhouseCoopers 2 A.N Ramachandra Deputy Commissioner
(Training) Navodaya Vidyalay Samiti
3 Ajay Goel Senior Vice President National Institute for Information Technology Ltd.
4 Anshul Sonak South Asia Education Manager
Intel –Intel Teach Program
5 Archana G Gulati Deputy Director General Universal Service Obligation Fund Administration
6 Ashish Garg Asia Regional Coordinator
Global e Schools and Communities Initiative (GeSCI)
7 Brij Kothari Professor Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahemdebad
8 H. N. S. Rao Academic Head - ICT EDU-COMP Solutions Pvt Limited
9 I.P.S Bakshi Director National Literacy Mission
10 K.N. Bawle Director State Resource Centre –Pune
11 M.S Khanna Joint Commissioner (Personnel)
Navodaya Vidyalay Samiti
12 Manjushree Reddy Assistant Editor Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies
13 Motilal Sharma Domain Expert PricewaterhouseCoopers 14 Nalin Jena Sr. Education Specialist World Bank
15 Pradeep Valsankar Consultant World Bank 16 Rajeshree Dutta
Kumar Sr. Research Associate Centre for Science,
Development and Media Studies (CSDMS)
17 Ravi Gupta Executive Director Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies (CSDMS)
18 Sandeep Saha Vice President –Marketing and Alliances
Educational Initiatives (EI-India)
19 Sanjay Tiwari Regional Director North Education Development Center, EDC India
20 Tenzin Dolma Norbhu
Regional Coordinator and Senior ICT Policy Specialist
World Bank
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Annexure II: Policy Documents Consulted
India
Education Policy (1992)
National Policy on ICT in School Education (draft)
Guidelines on ICT @ School Scheme
Afghanistan
National Education Strategy Plan (NESP), 2006-2010
Information and Communication Policy (2003)
Bangladesh
National Education Policy (draft)
National ICT Policy (2009)
Community Radio Installation, Broadcasting and Operation Policy (2008)
Bhutan
26th Education Policy Guidelines and Instructions (EPGI -2007)
Bhutan information and communications technology policy and strategies (BIPS 2004)
Maldives
Seventh National Development Plan (2009-2010)
Strategic Action Plan (2009-2013)
Nepal
IT Policy (2000)
Pakistan
National Education Policy (2009)
National IT Policy (2000 –revised 2008)
National Information and Communication Technology Strategy for Education (NICTE)
Sri Lanka
National Policy on Information and Technology in School Education (NAPITSE)
The Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka: “ICT act
no.27”
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Annexure III (a): List of Stakeholders Contacted
Name Designation and Organization
A.N Ramachandra Deputy Commissioner Training, Navodaya Vidyalaya Sangathan, (NVS), India
A.R. Rangaswamy Officer in charge for Radio Programs - DSERT, Department of State Educational Research and Training (DSERT) , Karnataka, India
Abhishek Gupta Coordinator, Hole-in-the-Wall Education Ltd, (HiWEL), India
Aimal Marjan Director General ICT, Ministry of Communications and IT, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Ajay Kapur Director, Oracle Education Foundation, Oracle, India
Ajay Mohan Goel Sr. Vice President - Corpotate Development, National Institute of Information Technology, (NIIT), India
Ameena Mohamed Didi Education Specialist, UNICEF, Maldives
Anoop Singh Rawat State Coordinator (Rajasthan), Learning Links Foundation representing Intel, India Anshul Sonak South Asia Education Manager, Intel
Anthony Lobo Senior Manager (HR & OD), Tata Consulting Services (TCS), India
Archana G Gulati Deputy Director General, Universal Service Obligation Fund Administration, India
Ashish Garg Asia Regional Coordinator, Global e-Schools & Communities Initiative (GeSCI)
Biswajit Das District Coordinator, IL&FS Education and Technology Services Ltd., West Bengal, India
Brij Kothari Professor, IIM Ahmedabad, India
Debojyoti Basu Assistant Manager, IL&FS Education and Technology Services Ltd., West Bengal, India
Devaprakash Joint Director, Department of State Educational Research and Training (DSERT), Karnataka, India
G.M.Niel Gunadasa Director of Education, ICT Branch, Ministry of Education, Sri Lanka
Gauri Arora Lead – Corporate Citizenship, Microsoft India, India
H. N. S. Rao Academic Head - ICT, EduComp, India
Habib Khan Academic Program Manager, Microsoft Corporation, Pakistan
I.F. Magi Special Officer, Department. of Education, Government of Karnataka, India
I.P.S Bakshi Director, National Literacy Mission, Government of India
Jawaid Ghani Chairmain, Punjab IT Board (PITB), Government of Punjab, Pakistan
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Jayaramu Department of State Educational Research and Training (DSERT) , Karnataka, India
Joudat Ayaz Head, IT Labs Project, Government of Punjab, Pakistan
K.N. Bawle Director, State Resource Centre –Pune, Government of India
Karma Jurmi Senior Program Officer for School IT Program, Department of School Education, Ministry of Education, Bhutan
Ken Maskall Maldives Representative, UNICEF
Kishwar S Sayeed Director, Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, (BRAC), Bangladesh
Krishna Nagaraju Strategic Account Manager, National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT), India
Linson Joseph Channel Platform Manager, Intel, South Asia
M M N D Bandara Secretary Department of Education, Ministry of Education, Sri Lanka
M.S Khanna Joint Commissioner, NVS, India
Manjulika Shrivastav Director – Distance Education Council, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), India
Manjushree Reddy Assistant Editor, Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies (CSDMS)
Martin Hadlow Project Manager for upgrading ERTV, UNDP, Afghanistan
Matthew Kam Project Leader, Mobile & Immersive Learning for Literacy in Emerging Economies (MILLEE) project, Carnegie Mellon University
Mohammed Salim Hayran Director of ICT, Ministry of Education, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Monali Handa Manager, Ncomputing, India
Monika Talwar Manager of ICT, EduComp, India
Nadya Karim Shaw Project Director for Dot- EDU India, Education Development Center (EDC), India
Nalin Jena Sr. Education Specialist, World Bank, India
Nasreen Khader Manager, Learning Links Foundation, Andhra Pradesh, India
Naveed Malik Rector, Virtual University, Pakistan
Neeraj Aggarwal Head, HiWEL, NIIT, India
Nisha Dua Senior Manager Education, Learning Links Foundation - representing Intel, India Nived Dinesh Head - Content Licensing and Development Services, Edurite India
Nuzhat Kidvai Education Technology Consultant, Beaconhouse School System, Pakistan
P Rajendran Chief Operating Officer, National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT), India
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Pradeep Valsankar Consultant, World Bank, India
Pranata Dhar Officer, IL&FS Education and Technology Services Ltd., West Bengal, India
Prit Singh Principal, Jawahar Navodaya School, New Delhi
Purnendu Hota HiWEL, Rajasthan, India
R.G.Nadadur Principal Secretary, Primary & Secondary Education, Department of Education, Government of Karnataka, India
Rabi Karmacharya Executive Director, Open Learning Exchange, Nepal
Rajeev Katyal Director ,Education, Microsoft
Rajeshree Dutta Kumar Sr. Research Associate, Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies (CSDMS)
Rathindranath De Director, State Council of Educational and Research and Training (SCERT), Government of Andhra Pradesh, India
Sandeep Saha Vice President –Marketing and Alliances, Educational Initiatives, India
Sanjay Tiwari Country Director, Education Development Center (EDC), India
Satya Narayanan Fellow, American Indian Foundation, Karnataka, India
Saurav Dev Bhatta Education Director, Open Learning Exchange, Nepal
Shabnam Aggarwal Project Manager, MILLEE
Siddhartha Mukherjee Advisor (Education & Training Services) West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Corporation Limited, India
Sidhartha Roy Executive Director, Response India Pvt. Ltd., West Bengal, India
Somit Shrivastav Education Officer, Kendriya Vidyalay Sangathan (KVS), India
Sukumar Anikar Head, Technology for Education, Azim Premji Foundation, India Sundar Krishnan American India Foundation, India
Suvendu Chatterjee Managing Director, Techno Teaching Info Solution Pvt. Ltd., West Bengal, India
Tarj Gunasekara Assistant Director General, National Institute of Education, Sri Lanka
Tenzin Dolma Norbhu Regional Coordinator and Senior ICT Policy Specialist, World Bank
Tshewang Tandin Director, Department of School Education, Ministry of Education, Bhutan
V.K Sharma Project Manager Centre for Development of Advanced Computing C-DAC, India
Vinay Mehra Regional Education Manager, Learning Links Foundation - representing Intel, India
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Figure 1: Front View of Achana High School
Figure 2: Achana High School
Annexure III (b): Details of Sites Visited
1. Achana High School
The team visited Achana High
School in West Bengal, India. The
school is located in the district of
South 24 Parganas with around
800 students. Achana High School
is one of the 17 schools where the
ICT in education initiative -
‘KYAN’ has been successfully
implemented.
The team had an opportunity to
meet the head master, Mr. Rai and
the teacher at the Computer
Division, Mr. Mritnunjaya.
2. Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Mungeshpur
Jawahar Nvadoaya Vidyalaya (JNV) schools are a cluster of 576 schools spread across the
rural areas of the country. The JNV School in Mungeshpur, like most other JNV schools has
integrated a number of ICT facilities. During the field visit to the school, the team had an
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Figure 3: Computer Classroom of JNV Mungeshpur
Figure 4: Hole-in-the-Wall Learning Station, Madangir
opportunity to interact with the principal, teachers and students and gain their view point
on the ICT facilities offered at the school.
3. NIIT, Hole-in-the-Wall Learning Stations
Hole-in-the-Wall Learning Stations are effectively computer kiosks which are located in
government school playgrounds. The team visited three schools where these learning
stations were embedded in government school walls. The team also spoke to the facilitator
present at the stations and the children who were using the kiosks.
Figure 5: Hole-in-the-Wall Learning Station, R.K Puram
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This publication has been prepared for general guidance on matters of interest only, and does not constitute professional advice. PricewaterhouseCoopers has taken all reasonable steps to ensure that the information contained herein has been obtained from reliable sources and that this publication is accurate and authoritative in all respects. However, this publication is not intended to give legal, tax, accounting or other professional advice. No reader should act on the basis of any information contained in this publication without considering and, if necessary, taking appropriate advice upon their own particular circumstances. If such advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. No representation or warranty (express or implied) is given as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this publication, and, to the extent permitted by law, PricewaterhouseCoopers, its members, employees and agents accept no liability, and disclaim all responsibility, for the consequences of you or anyone else acting, or refraining to act, in reliance on the information contained in this publication or for any decision based on it. This publication contains certain examples extracted from third party documentation and so being out of context from the original third party documents; readers should bear this in mind when reading the publication. The copyright in such third party material remains owned by the third parties concerned, and PricewaterhouseCoopers expresses its appreciation to these organizations for having allowed it to include their information in this publication. For a more comprehensive view on each organization’s communication, please read the entire document from which the extracts have been taken. Please note that the mention of any company/organization in this publication does not imply any endorsement of that organization by PricewaterhouseCoopers nor any verification of the accuracy of the information contained in any of the examples.