This document discusses the use of various media and technologies in education in India. It covers topics such as: 1. India hosted the Education for All summit in 1993 to promote universal access to education. National policies from 1986 and 1992 aimed to provide free and compulsory education for all children up to age 14. 2. Literacy programs like the Total Literacy Campaign aimed to make 100 million Indians literate, with a focus on low-literacy states. About 5 million volunteers worked to teach 50 million adults basic literacy skills. 3. Technologies like television, radio, computers, audio/video cassettes, and satellite networks have been used to expand access to education, especially for remote populations. While

1. Media and Education.
Introduction
In December 1993, India hosted the Education for All summit, which was attended by
nine high population countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia,
Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan. Together these countries account for more than the world's
population. The summit adopted the Delhi Declaration and Framework for Action, which
called for education for all children.
Earlier on the National Policy of Education (1986) and the
Programme of Action (1992) had resolved to ensure free
and compulsoryeducation to all children upto the age of
14 years before the beginning of the next century. In 1988,
the National Literacy Mission was launched by the late
Shri Rajiv Gandhi, which saw Kerala become the first
state to achieve 100% literacy. The National Policy on
Education was updated in 1992 to include several key
strategies which have two aims: universal access to
education by opening new schools in unserved habitations
and improved school environment.
The Total Literacy Campaign, which is the major
componentof the programme for universal adult literacy, is operational in 338 districts,
either partially or fully, spread over the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat,
Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab,
Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
About five million volunteers are engaged in teaching the
alphabets to about 50 million people in the 9-45 age group. It is
estimated that 15 million of them have become functionally literate. Post-
Literacy and continuing education programmes are also being
launched. The objective is to make 100 million people literate. Special
attention is being paid to the four low-literacy and high-population states of
Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, which account for
48% of the illiterate population of the country.
Technology For Innovation In Education
Information technology facilitates sharing and influencing those who are within a

2. cultural and linguistic boundary. The electronic media have high replicability and
multiplying capacity. This

3. has attracted the attention of educational planners. UNESCO has stated
conclusively that the broadcastmedia have made significant contributions to the
cause of education in many nations, both the developing as well as developed.
Many countries and a number of educational institutions, particularly open
universities in the developed countries have adopted new communication
technology in a big way. Telidon, which is a Canadian video system, is a powerful
educational tool. Cyclops another good innovation, of
television, was developed by open universities in England. The British open
universities also make wide use of television time over BBC to beam its various
television programmes. Similarly Japan and us too have well-developed ETV
service. The US public television schoolprogrammes serve teachers and students in
classrooms as well as at residences. These universities of developed countries have
embarked on aggressive marketing of their productof education and are searching
markets for their programmes particularly in developing countries by employing
communication technologies (Takwale).
Many commercial houses in India are venturing into the field of education and are
offering professional and technological courses by using communication
technologies, prominent among these in India being NIIT, APTECH and Zee
Education. They are using television, computer communication, e-mail and
networks - the Internet for reaching their students.
TELEVISION
Television has been considered to be an effective medium for spreading education.
That explains
why some of the universities of the world, such as Chinese, are named as TV
Universities. The medium of television is extremely rich, expressive and
powerful. The teacher can be seen and heard and his demonstrations and examples
can be assimilated more quickly and more easily through television. Television
has democratised education. The disadvantaged group of learners living in remote
and rural areas of the country gets the same quality of education as their
counterparts in urban areas. In the UK, the Open University uses TV for 35 hours a
week. In China, it is used for 32 hours and Canada; it is used for 12 hours a week. In
Japan it is used on a large
scale. (Haider 1998).
Doordarshan
The television was introduced in India for educational and developmental purposes by
the
government but the situation today is different. As Ms. Smith said "what matters
now to Doordarshan is survival, which means revenue, social relevance no longer
hold the place it did", and this resulted in adopting a new format. However better
approachis as put it by the CBA secretary-general; the answer to the problem
could be to impose "regulation" as it was done in Britain. The commercial
broadcasting organisations in Britain supply educational material not becauseit
was central to their core function (which is making money), but because they were

4. required to do so by regulation, it being a condition of their licence. (Countrywide
Class Room1997). However in spite of having severe competition from the private
TV, Doordarshan devotes quite a bit of time to educational programming.
SchoolTelecast
Based on the previous experiences, satellite based programmes were initiated for
schoolchildren in
1982-1983. At present regular schooltelevision programmes are produced and
telecast from Bombay and Madras Kendras. Educational programmes are also
telecast from a number of states in different languages covering both formal and non-
formal education. The software for these programmes are produced bycentral
Institute of education Technology (CIET) in Delhi and state

5. Institute of education Technology (SIET'S)in various states.
Transmission for Higher Education
On the higher education front, the country-wide classroomof UGC was launched on
15th of August, 1984 with the objectives of putting out quality education within the
reach of students in small villages and towns by acquainting teachers and students
with latest developments in different disciplines. (UGC Credo for CWCR).
The centres opened in the universities of the various states producethe programmes.
Initially, it
was broadcast1-2 p.m. 6 days a week (excluding Sunday) and from 4-5 p.m. 6 days
a week only in English. The study, carried out in February 1993, covered 27 cities
and towns, spread across 6 regions with a sample size of 15,422 persons. The study
had indicated a viewership estimated at
194 Lakhs.
Since February 1994, the timing of the programme was changed and additional slots
including Hindi transmission was introduced. The recent study (in 1997) was carried
out in 50 cities and towns. CWCR viewers accountfor 11.5% of the population of
these towns/cities i.e. the urban CWCR audience can be estimated at 218 Lakhs.
Though many of them are 'casual' viewers, frequent or dedicated viewers (4 or more
days a week) number around 18 Lakhs. A Large majority of CWCR viewers are
students from non-metropolitan towns, which is the primary target audience as
defined by CEC. Apart from the students, viewership among academicians, senior
citizens and young adults is quite significant. (CEC 1997).
The telecast also includes the University Video Lecture Courses (UVLC), besides
the Countrywide Classroom (CWCR). Theselectures were recorded in the 1980's for
narrowcasting rather than broadcasting. It was hoped that these lectures, in form of
VHS cassettes, would help
undergraduates (Madhu 1998).
Though many claims are being made about the success ofthe use of television in
education, many educationists have disputed them vigorously on the count of it
being a one way channel. Unless it
is combined with correspondenceorsome special arrangement in classroom, it is
impossible to tell how much the student has got out of the lesson. The student cannot
control the pace of lesson to
suit his needs, which is formidable handicap. Experience so far suggests that TV
stimulate teachers more than students do and hence can be of immense help in
improving a teacher's performance.
Teleconference
Teleconferencing allows interactive television with one way video and two-way
audio communication by using telephone lines. This interactive talkback technology
for distance education is used since 1991. Indian Space Research Organisation has
pioneered by conducting series of experiments for different applications with

6. different partners. The main thrust has been to add an interactive dimension
reducing the limitations of one way mode inherent in broadcasting.
CWCR carried out teleconferencing in broadcastsituation first in 1991, later in
1994 it was repeated. The entire country was connected through telephone lines.
The students and learners from all over the places including remote areas
enthusiastically participated with the help of organised viewing and individually
(Reddy 1995).
OPEN UNIVERSITY
The continuous and rapid expansion in all spheres calls for the need for updating
professional

7. knowledge and skills of the human power. This can be referred as renewing
intellectual passport. (Panday 1996). Forthe purposeIndira Gandhi National Open
University was established.
On May 20th, 1991, programmes for students enrolled in IGNOU were also
introduced thereby opening new vistas in the field of distance education.
Programmes on subjects in the syllabus of various courses including management
programmes are being telecast in Hindi and English. IGNOU has developed a
network of open universities in India called OPENET- Open Education Network.
It offers teleconferencing facility, which is based on analogue technology.
Though TV has several advantages over print materials and Radio, it is not within the
reach of common man as the sets are very expensive. Further, lack of adequate
transmission facilities and dissatisfaction with the time slot available is some of the
factors responsible for using the television sparingly.
Non-Formal Education
But television definitely has an important role to play in education, not only television
have helped
many students to pass high-school and university exams without attending school or
college, it can also impart vocational training, technical agricultural skill and of a
great help in the field of 'Adult literacy'. (Bhatia 1980).
Recently in 1996 an ambitious project called Jhabua Development communication
project has been launched by Indian space Research Organisation, which is planning
to improve literacy rate, motivate for schoolenrolment, adult education, female
literacy and functional literacy in tribal
area. (DECU 1996).
Efforts by Commercial Sector
With the rising number of channels and conceptof cable TV and Pay-TV the use of
television for educational purposehas achieved new dimensions. Today, even
separate channels are being proposed forexclusive telecast of educational
programmes. One such example is of Discovery channel. Some non-government
channels as ZEE TV, which has already entered into the field of education at
different, levels with its, channel of ZED (Zee Education).
Problem Area
The productionof software (programmes) for educational purposes is a very costly
affair, if it is
not commercial in nature, and with limited amount of funds available it becomes
very difficult to producequality programmes.
The other impediments in the success ofETV in India have been those of technical
nature. The television sets can be operated in electrified areas and large parts of the
country having irregular or no supply of electricity; the use of television is restricted.

8. Moreover, there have been problems of propermaintenance of television receiver
and the unsatisfactory reception of the programme, apart from the costfactor of
buying the television set.
Moreover, due to the pressure of time on transmission, the organisation of the
programmes is always tight. Learning through satellite is basically 'learning by
Guidance' and hence satellite has much less to offer by way of learning than by
doing and personal exploration.
Audio-Video Cassettes

9. Mobile audio-visual media including cassettes and films have come into
increasing use in development projects, because of their versatility, mobility and
adaptability. Further such media
are becoming less and less expensive as technologies becomemore and more
sophisticated. Mobile media are specifically targeted to local situations and are easily
reproduced and distributed. They lend themselves well to discussion groups,
investigation forums and to repetition, yet carry the credibility of the electronic
media and the excitement and liveliness of oral communication.
In the field of education, audio/video cassettes have an edge over radio or television,
which can be played and replayed at home by the learner at his/her will. A learner
can stop a particular tape at a point where more details are necessary and can play on
slow motion to understand a difficult point. He need not get up early in the morning
or wake up late in the night for Radio and TV broadcasts. "Theuse of video enabled
a good lecturer to be seen and heard all over the country, without having to repeat his
performance…" (M. Tyrell and R. Davies, 1980). At the moment, the video
equipment is costly in India and even in other developing countries and they are not
within the reach of most of the students. That is why audio/video cassettes produced
for each course by IGNOU are kept at all study centres and regional centres.
Students are advised to go to the nearest study centre to avail of audio/video
programmes facilities when they visit study centre for counselling (Haider 1998).
COMPUTERS
Computers today, are used not only for mathematical purposes, butare also
emerging in the new role of communication and education. Computer as a tool is
available to improve the process ofteaching and learning. Students of advanced
nations are of the opinion that the computer is best suited for revision of the course,
which had already been studied. It also stores student information required for
distance education management.
Use of computers in education has resulted in computer Assisted Learning (CAC)
and Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI). A variety of computer languages, are
designed for accounting, scientific calculation, mathematical calculations etc.
Computers can be immensely useful in
providing individualised, repetitive or analogous practice to learner in problem
solving exercises as well as activities for developing a variety of skills in a training
programme.
Computers today not only assist some of the functions of education but also
emerged as a rapidly growing field known as educational computing. Computers
can play a vital role in educational management. Educational computing is going to
be part of educational management in the twenty first centuries. Computer helps in
planning; organising, leading and controlling to achieve educational goals and also
promotes process ofmeeting educational needs (Rajyaguru1998) Educational
computing applications are classified into 1.Knowedge generation 2. Knowledge

10. dissemination 3. Information management (Knezek and others 1988).
1. Knowledge generation: Digital revolution has very much facilitated the job of an
author. So far he had to write the text in long hand or get it typed from a
professional typist who would commit a number of typographical mistakes to the
annoyance of the author. Now an author can prepare his manuscript himself on a
personal computer without anybody's help and make additions and alterations in the
text as necessary. Computers have also given birth to digital or electronic publishing
called DTP, dispensing with hand and machine compositors.
2 Knowledge dissemination: The sector, which is greatly influenced by the
development of the

11. computers, is libraries. We have been witnessing a transition from library and
information service to data processing - the computing of the past to what is
currently called 'Knowledge processing'. The key tool of this speciality is the
digital computer.
3. Information management: Now most of the popular encyclopaedias,
dictionaries, bibliographies, multi-media presentations, abstracting and indexing
journals and their back volumes are coming in the handy CD-ROM format,
available at one fourth the price of a hard cover copy. One CD-ROM of 550-
MB storage capacity can store upped 2 million A4-size pages of the text besides
sound and graphics (Gupta1998).
The uses of telecommunications along with computers have completely
changed the scene in the field of information and education. Globally, the
most important superhighway is 'Internet'. Established in the United States in
1969, it todayhas over 40 million members spread over about
130 countries. It allows the individual to access 20,000 networks and thus link
up with organisations, academic institutions and research groups the world
over. Indian computers can hook-up groups with 'Internet' through NICNET of
the National Informatics Centre or ERNET of the Department of Electronics,
and other networks in operation (Kaula1997).
These technological developments, and those, which are in the pipeline, are
going to change the very complexion of libraries of all categories. These will
be called electronic libraries. Electronic libraries will becomerealities only
after all the books likely to be in demand are available on optical disks.
In India the important development in this line is an addition of Information
Library Network (INFLIBNET), which provides various universities the know-
how of commissioning computers, installing application software, providing
training and extending all possible help to start computerised operations and
networking. The OPENET provides server-based classroom. The students and
teacher communicate amongst themselves through computer connectivity by
using e- mail with audio, video or print material exchange.
The information super highways have revolutionised life in many western
countries and Japan, bringing work place to the home and making 'Virtual
Office', 'Virtual Class Room' and 'Virtual Library' possible. This has been
achieved because of the availability of high-class technology. The question is
whether it is possibleto duplicate this in developing countries. The outdated

12. telecom facilities, high costof connection, a waiting list that never ends, low
technological awareness are serious problems faced by most of the developing
countries.
Review Questions:
 Explain the role of Indian TV in spreading literacy.
 Give highlights of efforts made by commercial sectorin education
awareness.
 What is Non Formal Education?