Empowering Rural Homemakers with Digital Literacy

COCHIN, India - March 2, 2015 - PRLog -- 42 women and 140 students from two villages in Kerala are getting trained in basic computer skills under the “Digital Literacy Week” (DLW) program conducted by the “National Digital Literacy Mission” (NDLM). The National Digital Literacy Mission (‘NDLM’) has a vision to empower at least one person per household with digital literacy by 2020. It is expected to touch the lives of more than 250 million individuals over the next few years. The project aims to help adults with low technology literacy in interacting effectively with an increasingly digital world, thereby opening new vistas of economic growth for them.

The DLW program conducted by the NASSCOM Foundation partnering with “One Library Per Village” (OLPV) is held in Thrikkanamangal Public Library, Kottarakara and Dr. B R Ambedkhar Library at Kakkathanam, Vilangara in Kerala.

http://digitalliteracyweek.blogspot.in

The course provides 20 hours of free training in various digital tools under the NDLM curriculum. All those who are above 14 years of age and possess an Adhar card are eligible to undergo the training. Those who pass the online exam are issued a certificate of completion from the Government of India.

“Total digital literacy in India can only be achieved by empowering the rural population, especially by supporting village libraries, schools, colleges and other educational institutions. More than 6, 00,000 villages will have to be transformed to reach the dream of a fully digital India. Our government should give more priority to rural education and should provide necessary facilities for e-learning to all villages, said Anil Bhagya, District Governor, Y's Men International, while inaugurating the training session of “One Library Per Village”

“Started in August 1947, the Thrikkanamangal Public Library is one of the first libraries of modern India but it has been was inactive for 20 years. We have been able to bring it back to its old glory, thanks to the efforts of volunteers and large hearted library lovers. We are happy to see many people showing interest in learning to use computers in our library” said the secretary of Thrikkanamangal Library, Mr. Sreeraj K. Sreeraj is a school teacher who has been instrumental in reinstating the library.

“The response for the program has been very encouraging. The biggest challenge in training the rural population is that we get a mix of people, some with good knowledge and many that are absolute beginners who prefer classes in the local language. We provided Computer Based Interactive learning software in Malayalam and selected well trained local volunteers to help beginners. Students were divided into small batches using the self-organized learning environment (SOLE) system which helped beginners to study faster in collaborative learning atmosphere “, said Sujai.G.Pillai who was an Educational Consultant in Dubai and is the founder of “One Library Per Village” and www.2tion.com . He is also one of the 20 MyGov Ambassadors of Prime Minister Modi’s Digital India Team.

Mr. Pillai also emphasized the importance of training and collaborative learning in libraries “Even though students are learning to use computers in schools and colleges, they lack practical skills. Many smartphone users don’t have email ids but are active in Facebook and WhatsApp. Even people who have Internet access at home are not tapping its full potential for day to day activities. Village libraries are the best place to democratically learn and teach without any discrimination and are a must for the fast changing technological world.”

At a national level, NASSCOM Foundation has pledged support to the NDLM and is working closely with the Department of Electronics & IT (DeitY), Government of India to create an initial pool of one million digitally literate Indians and eventually spread digital literacy to every household in India through Corporate NDLM Centers, Digital Libraries, Schools and Common Service Centers.

www.olpv.org