ICT Aided Education for People's Empowerment

Abstract

It is widely recognised that knowledge and education are the key factors that need attention to eradicate poverty. Yet the poorest sections of the community have the least access to conventional means of gaining knowledge and education. Thus we are witnessing a polarized world where on the one side we would find an “information elite” and on the other, the digitally illiterates or excluded. Such a position is very apparent from the world map of the Internet users (Zooknic, 2003). This paradox is common in the developing countries across the globe. The gap between population groups and accessibility to knowledge resources is widening as the awareness, information, as well as education and skill development efforts fail to reach the right target. The major reason for this lies with the present system of knowledge dissemination and not with knowledge resources. India, where literacy is still very low, cannot simply rely on printed books for effective education and knowledge dissemination.