1. Adult Illiteracy A systemic approach to address an endemic problem through effective use of Information Technology Kesav V. Nori Chief Information Officer Tata Consultancy Services

2. Literacy in India: Some Statistics Data Source: 1991 & 2001 Census Reading and writing in an Indian Language Read at the rate of 30 words a minute 13.2% improvement over a decade Over 300 Million illiterates Between 150 and 200 Million adult illiterates Literacy Rates in India

3. National Literacy Mission Functional literacy Has the best researched material available in printed form Attends to the 3 Rs and uses themes to enhance social awareness Is available in every Indian Language Has a consistent underlying philosophy Needs capable trained teachers deliver instruction by conventional methods Government has infrastructure to reach all of India

4. Good and dedicated teachers are in short supply Functional literacy The focus is on achieving literacy levels as specified by WHO The teaching program takes long to administer, over 200 hours of instruction Due to the duration of the program the chances of drop outs is high The expectation is that it could take another fifteen to twenty years to wipe it out The progress is slower than desirable National Literacy Mission

5. Community Initiatives in the Area of eradicating Adult Illiteracy

6. Some personal motivations for literacy … I did not know how to help my children in their studies … I had to seek help in getting directions to get about … now I check their reports, and refuse to sign on them if they are not doing well... … we have to sign when we accept money … sometimes we are asked to sign on a blank paper … now I read before committing anything … I can even read movie titles on TV...

7. Some personal motivations for literacy Migrant 1: I do not know how to read (said in Hindi) … it will be good for me to read (said in Telugu) … Migrant 2: I am a Tamilian. I want to learn to read and write in Telugu

8. Prerak on the use of computers I am a prerak. I have been working since ‘95. Computers have helped … needed individual training earlier, can teach a roomfull now … classes are shorter … more people are coming … they are interested

9. Experienced student can teach! I have learned to operate the computer … when the prerak is not here, I can run the class … it does not matter how many there are in the class … we can help ourselves...

10. Do we have a role to play? Functional literacy Adopt Systems Approach and Concurrent Engineering Methodology A concern as widely scoped as Adult Illiteracy needs systemic solutions Apply IT skills in applications of relevance and concern Information Technology IT is a medium whose applications are only limited by our imagination Multimedia based support for training in all Indian Languages is possible IT can be used to monitor administration and management logistics

11. Reinforce trainers through multiple aids Need to relate spoken word to graphic written form Exploit innate intelligence and cognitive capability Of the 3 Rs, reading is most important Functional literacy Adapting from the National Literacy Mission Material Deriving advantage from phonetic nature of Indian language scripts Do we have a role to play?

12. A Cognitive Approach Functional literacy Adults know the sounds of words and the things they denote in the real world Their cognitive abilities can be drawn upon to first recognize the written form of the word They need to connect between the spoken sound and the written graphics Words are then divided into syllables which are spoken and written as a whole The alphabet is an end to the means of coping with unending variety From syllables we proceed to phonemes and then to the alphabet

13. Functional literacy A Possible Solution Use the material produced by the National Literacy Mission Prepare and debug the computer based material through field trials, for each Indian Language Organize for teaching reading skills first through cognition of written words, syllables and letters Develop technological aids to facilitate connectedness for support, monitoring and control Do necessary technology development to simplify coping with variety in Indian Languages Develop Portals and explore WLL technology

14. ++++ PlayPlay with word, script and sound in Telugu Telugu CBT for Lesson 1

15. Classwork

16. Tried in over 80 centres Over a 1000 adults trained Participation by TCS, NLM, Government, Andhra Mahila Sabha, District, Mandal and Panchayat bodies Telugu lessons have been through 4 revisions Experimentation with Cable TV for delivery 70% success* Power problems Equipment problems Need for monitoring progress Need for a project office Need for networking Need for automation in rendering lessons *computers as surrogate trainers mitigates the need for a large number of trained and experienced teachers Experiments with Telugu in Andhra Pradesh in Medak and Guntur Districts

17. 15-20 students a class 3 days a week 1.5 - 2 hours a day 2 batches a day 4 batches a week 8 - 10 week course 60-80 students a term 6 terms a year 360-480 students p.a. 20,000 habitations 20,000 classroom sites 20,000 computers * minimum 5 million students p.a. ~15 -20 million students in 3-5 years *computers as surrogate teachers mitigates the need for a large number of trained and experienced teachers The size of the problem in Andhra Pradesh ~ a tenth of the Indian problem

18. Reaching the needy Standalone computers: 486s* Wireless local loops: the last mile problem* Cable television and set top boxes* Digital broadcast * two way interaction facilitated

19. Training material in every language Donation of computers Donation of UPS Donation of ancillaries Donation of supplementary material Communications infrastructure Training the teachers and trainers NGOs Social service bodies College students National Literacy Mission Sustained project management Logistics of delivery

20. Acknowledgments Idea: Mr. F.C. Kohli Direction: Prof. P. N. Murthy Field Work: Dr. S Ganesh Production: Dr. M.V. Anathakrishnan Project Management: Maj. Gen. Shively Technology R&D: K.V. Nori

21. Thank You

22. Early performance

23. Performance at the end of the course

24. Some can write!

25. letters and soundslesson scripts speech synthesis engine wallpaper graphics engine story boardperformance monitor rule based reasoning case based reasoning computer based learning environment multimedia engine speech analysis engine

26. portal for adult literacy services help desk demographics mandal district state nation sex agencies government NGOs corporations businesses trusts management lesson course site grouplogistics course ware language trainer training FAQs

27. Networking needs rural exchanges internet wireless local loop technology literacy training site