Métricas

CONCLUSION  AND  SUGGESTIONS                                         Concluding  observations  

Following   the   MHRD   guidelines   an   evaluation   of   ICT@Schools   Scheme   was   undertaken   in   Secondary/Higher   Secondary   Government   and   aided   schools   covering   8   districts   in   the   state   of   Tamil  Nadu.  The  field  investigation  at  the  school  level  primarily  focused  on  the  appraisal  criteria   drawn  from  the  TOR  supplemented  by  views  from  the  field.    

• The  Enrollment  pattern  comprises  an  average  of  63%  in  General  category,  32%  in  SC  category   and   5%   ST   category.   The   proportion   of   SC/ST   community   children   is   high   in   government   schools.  Proper  implementation  of  the  ICT  scheme  will  definitely  bring  an  enormous  change  in   the  education  pattern  of  children  from  the  weaker/marginalized  sections.    

• In  Tamil  Nadu,  there  is  no  separate  department  called  ICT  department  in  schools.  The  computer   Labs  are  considered  as  the  ICT  department.  While  Computer  Labs  are  available  in  nearly  90%  of  

the  schools  surveyed,  we  find  that  there  is  scope  for  better  utilization.  Alongside  11th  _{and  12}th   standard  students  who  have  taken  Computer  Science  as  an  elective  subject,  the  labs  should  be   made   more   and   more   frequently   accessible   to   middle,   high   and   higher   secondary   school   children.   As   of   now,   most   of   the   utilization   is   limited   to   11th   _{and   12}th   _{standard   students   who}   have  Computer  Science  as  an  elective  subject.  

• In  Cuddalore  and  Chennai  districts,  the  ICT  intervention  has  started  early  in  the  years  1986  and   1997  respectively.  In  other  districts,  ICT  intervention  was  during  the  period  2005-­‐2007.  In  spite   of  this  there  is  no  significant  gap  between  the  schools  in  these  districts  in  terms  of  the  physical   infrastructure  available.  

• Individual   PCs,   server   with   terminals,   printers,   broadband   antenna   and   UPS   are   available   in   100%  schools.  But  not  all  are  in  working  condition.  (Please  refer  to  table.  5  in  Chapter  4).  For   example,   while   Projectors   and   Laptops   are   available   in   98%   and   93%   schools   respectively,   projectors  are  in  working  condition  in  only  about  60%  of  the  schools.  Other  ICT  facilities  such   as   scanner,   web   camera,   modem,   video   camera   and   –   most   importantly   –   power   generator/solar   power   are   available   in   very   few   schools.   Ensuring   alternate   sources   of   electricity  in  areas  where  supply  is  low  /  very  erratic  will  go  a  long  way  in  better  utilization  of   existing  infrastructure.    

• ICT   is   taught   as   a   subject   at   the   Higher   Secondary   Level   in   100%   schools   but   only   for   those   students  who  have  opted  for  computer  science  as  their  elective  subject.  This  must  be  expanded   by  introducing  basic  level  courses,  including  individual  exposure  time,  for  all  children  from  8th   standard  onwards.  

In   most   of   the   schools,   students   have   not   had   the   opportunity   to   use   computers   at   the   high   school  level  from  8th  _{to  10}th  _{standard.  At  Primary  level,  they  do  have  CAL  centers  active  in  some}   of  the  schools,  which  provide  access  to  computers.  It  is  the  middle  and  high  school  children  who   have  no  opportunity  to  use  computers  unless  they  are  able  to  get  Computer  Science  as  one  of   their  electives  in  11th  _{standard.  This  needs  to  be  and  can  be  changed.}    

• Thanks   to   the   trainings   organized   by   SSA,   Secondary   Grade   Non-­‐ICT   teachers   have   had   some   minimum  computer  training  on  the  basics,  MS  office  and  internet  usage.  However,  there  were   no  practical  sessions  during  the  training.  So  most  non-­‐ICT  teachers  whose  academic  schedule  is   anyway   packed   with   teaching   their   subjects,   have   had   very   little   hands-­‐on   experience   with  

computers.  More  exposure  time  and  hands-­‐on  training  are  needed  to  familiarize  them  with  an   ICT-­‐enabled   teaching-­‐learning   environment   so   as   to   improve   their   utilization   of   available   ICT   facilities  to  teach  non-­‐ICT  subjects.    

It  must  be  noted  that  this  SSA  basic  training  was  limited  to  Secondary  Grade  teachers.  None  of   the  Primary  Grade  teachers  have  had  any  training  in  computers.  

• In  several  Schools,  the  Administrative  Staff  post  is  vacant;  the  teachers  who  possess  some  basic   computer   knowledge,   especially   the   ICT   teachers,   were   engaged   in   doing   the   School   Administration   work   part-­‐time   after   their   school   hours.   The   vacancy   in   non-­‐teaching   staff   position  needs  to  be  addressed  on  an  urgent  basis.  

• There  are  no  ICT  teachers  appointed  in  any  of  the  Government  or  Corporation  Schools  in  Tamil   Nadu.  We  have  considered  the  computer  teachers  appointed  to  teach  elective  subject  Computer   Science  for  11th  _{and  12}th  _{Standards  as  ICT  teacher.}  

It   must   be   noted   however,   that   Government   Adi-­‐Dravida   Welfare   Schools   do   not   have   any   provision  to  appoint  a  computer  teacher.  

• Only  about  20%  of  teachers  are  using  technology  in  their  day-­‐to-­‐day  activities.  (Please  refer  graph.   3).  27%  of  them  read  e-­‐books,  47%  surf  the  internet,  15-­‐18%  use  excel  spreadsheet,  11%  use  it   for  social  networking  and  33%  download  subject  related  articles  from  the  internet.  However,   they  all  use  computer  and  internet  only  at  home  and  not  in  school.  

• Majority  of  the  Non-­‐ICT  teachers  agreed  that  technology  promotes  practical  learning,  it  creates   visual  auditory  impact,  it  encourages  interactive  learning  and  that  it  saves  time  as  well.  47%  felt   that  technology  is  partially  difficult  to  use  due  to  heterogeneity  of  the  students’  aptitude.  While   a  clear  majority  (69%)  felt  that  technology  couldn’t  replace  the  traditional  Chalk  &  Talk  Method,   most  of  them  (79%)  were  also  clear  that  technology  could  be  successfully  integrated  into  the   Indian  teaching-­‐learning  environment.  

• School   HMs   who   are   knowledgeable   and   motivated   about   ICT   have   a   positive   impact   on   the   overall  ICT  environment  in  schools.  Intensifying  the  training  given  to  HMs  and  taking  steps  to   raise  their  motivation  and  interest  levels  would  surely  help  improve  the  overall  effectiveness  of   the  ICT  initiatives.    

• The  major  factors  that  affect  ICT  implementation  could  be  listed  as      

o Non-­‐Availability  of  ICT  material  to  teach  subjects  

o Lack   of   Awareness   amongst   the   HMs   and   teachers   regarding   usage   of   ICT   in   teaching   subject  

o Lack  of  basic  knowledge  and  training  among  a  majority  of  PG  teachers   o Underutilization  of  existing  ICT  tools  

o Non  allocation  of  recurring  or  maintenance  expenditure  in  the  School  Budget   o Ensuring  enough  exposure  to  children  from  socio-­‐economically  weaker  background    

• The  single  most  important  request  that  emerged  from  almost  all  the  School  HMs  and  Teachers   was   to   set   up   of   common   service   centers,   which   are   easily   accessible   for   repairs   and   maintenance  of  the  ICT  infrastructure.    

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