State Level Consultation Workshop on Content Generation for Universalisation of Education and Child Rights

9th of March saw an intense and involved deliberation by school teachers, panchayat representatives, NGO representatives and others on the 'ideal' content on the InDG web portal in the primary education sector. The one-day workshop organised by InDG CDAC team in collaboration with the M.V Foundation (Hyderabad) was a successful event held at the CESS (Centre for Economic and Social Studies) Hyderabad in the presence of around 42 participants from various professional backgrounds. Participants came from Nellore, Nalgonda,Vijayawada, Adilabad, Khammam, East Godavari and other districts of AP.

This was in a sense a first workshop of the kind to elicit people's opinions, views, and ideas about what could be the messages, information, and perspectives on the Primary Education vertical in the InDG website.

The deliberations focussed on the need to improve upon the current content of the Primary Education sector in the InDG web portal. People spoke from their local experiences based on what they felt was needed on the portal. For instance, schooling, laws and acts relating to primary education, education as a fundamental right, rights of the girl child, statistics of government schools in districts, international covenants, policies, etc on education for all, among other issues.

The NGO representatives and others present assured the InDG team of their willingness to cooperate and collaborate in information and content generation for the InDG portal for the Primary Education sector.

In the inaugural session, Prof. Mahendra Dev, Director, CESS, highlighted the need for the portal to have a child rights perspective and have information in the local languages in rural areas. But he also warned of the need to look into the real issues such as lack of power / electricity connectivity in rural areas.

Dr. M. Krishnamurthy, of the M.V. Foundation said the portal could be designed keeping in mind the needs of the child, through use of audio visual media tools.

Dr. Sarat Chandra Babu, Director, C-DAC Hyderabad shared with the audience the essential motto of C-DAC being technology for human development wherein InDG would play a major role highlighting social issues, taking information to rural people in local languages; and he said the very nature of the InDG team ( coming from developmental and multi lingual backgrounds) gives it the uniqueness. He invited partnerships in content generation form those present.

Meanwhile, Shankarappa, Sarpanch from Mominpet mandal in Ranga Reddy District said though his village panchayat office does not have a computer, he was hopeful the panchayat representatives would be give training in use of computer and according to him information on acts and policy relating to child labour, child marriages, bonded labour, etc rampant in his area, would be useful to the people of his panchayat which he hopes the InDG project would help with.

Similar workshops are planned in other Indian states in the near future.