Educational Development in UK & India

UK Education Scenario

Education in United Kingdom is highly advanced and is one of the prominent education systems in the world. Universal state education in England and Wales was introduced for primary level in 1870 and secondary level in 1900. Since then, UK education has been climbing the ladder of success and setting many great examples across the globe. Infact, in 2008, ranked in the global top 10 universities for ICT implementation and infrastructure by QS World University Rankings were University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Imperial College London and University College. One of the major reasons for UK’s success in Education has been the early implementation of ICT.

Following the introduction of ICT, the UK government was prompt enough to establish agencies dedicated to managing ICT funding allocated to universities, colleges and schools. One of the government's lead agencies set up for this purpose and to ensure rapid development of the sector was British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA), a non-departmental public body of the Department for Children, Schools and Families in the UK. Established in 1998, BECTA administers the procurement of ICT equipment for schools using framework agreements valid for four years. Under this framework, educational institutes in the UK intending to purchase ICT-related goods and services – including system design, hardware and software provision, training, implementation and ongoing technical support – in the budget range of GBP 100,000 pounds can save themselves from much wasted effort and trouble by procuring from a BECTA-listed company. Also, the process of purchasing ICT-related services is simplified, thus bridging the gap between the Government and the schools and colleges willing to adopt technology.

In 2005/06, much focus was given to ICT developments following the launch of the first wave of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme by the then government. The ambitious project by the Labour Government had made provisions for redevelopment of every school in England. Of the revamp cost, nearly GBP 11 billion was allocated by The Department of Education (DfE) for ICT development. However, in 2010, the newly formed government axed the entire BSF project which saw many schools and colleges lose out on fundings including for ICT development.

By then, the need and importance of ICT was much understood by the educational institutes. The recent survey conducted by British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA), a trade association, reveals that over half of the schools in the UK are determined to continue with the planned IT investment, despite the funding cuts. Of 1,379 surveyed schools, 58 percent of primary schools and 51 percent of secondary schools are willing to go on with their IT investments for 2011-12.

Indian Education Scenario

The successful UK education sector has attracted tie-ups from countries like Australia, China and India. Asian countries like India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have a long way to go to achieve what UK has till now. Of these three countries, India is most closely following in UK’s footsteps in terms of implementation of ICT infrastructure in Education. However, only recently have the Government of India (GoI) and private firms begun promoting the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in Education, especially in Formal Education. Many reforms and policies have been introduced by the government for the use of ICT, some of which are listed below:

• GoI’s efforts in providing multi-purpose community information centres in the northeast of the country has parallels to a similar joint effort by the Uttaranchal State Government in cooperation with the Indian Institute of Technology.
• Madhya Pradesh is also home to the Headstart Programme, which provides computers along with multimedia learning kits to students and teachers in rural community schools that are set up under the Education Guarantee Scheme. The Government of Goa is involved in a similar initiative to provide Goan school students with computers.
• The Government of Andhra Pradesh is actively engaged in a partnership with Tataliteracy.com, a portal designed to provide free literacy in some of the poorest districts of the state. Similar initiatives with MediaLab Asia, on the outskirts of Delhi, and in the interior of Tamil Nadu (Baatchit, Infothela, and Sari projects), seek to provide access and content to rural populations.
• Project Vidya, a partnership between the Government of India and Intel, seeks to improve the quality of educational input in selected government schools throughout the country by providing both, ICT access and training to students and teachers.

Much emphasis has been given to ICT development in India. Slowly but steadily, India is reaching those standards set by other countries like the UK and the US. With continued and consistent efforts like these, over the next few years India could join the league of the elite nations in terms of education.