A DREAM TO BE DIGITAL

Ramgadh primary school in the village of Ramgadh in Gujarat has 263 students in grades 1 to 8. The school has only 8 rooms for students to study but there is no other facility infrastructure except four walls and a blackboard. With govt grants, the school is able to provide basic education but the school lacks a library, science lab and computer lab. These children do not have smartphones or TVs at home to help them learn themselves also. There is immense talent in the students but due to a lack of proper infrastructure, their talent is wasted. In order for the kids to have a fair chance to compete in the modern world, the least we can do is give them the resources for it.

Since the school does not have a separate room for the computer lab, we decided to teach the kids through laptops. The advantage of a laptop is that the lab will be mobile. We wish to make a computer lab starting with 10 laptops. The kids do not have desks in their class too. So if the grant is extended, we plan to have chairs and tables so that learning on the laptop becomes ergonomic for the kids. We plan to hire a dedicated teacher to teach the computer basics to the students. 

With the introduction of computers to these students, we would help the students to be introduced to the digital world. There are no quantitative benefits but this way they can have a fair chance to match the pace of the ever-evolving technologies that drive the modern world. The global language 'English' will also be learnt indirectly. They will learn about spreadsheets, emails, internet which drive the world but to them even these words are alien. However, every child is curious. When they would be provided with the right resources, they will make the best out of it under the right guidance.