Government of India Unveils Sakshat $10 Tablet PC for Students

[Easy Rhino]

Just a little tip -- "Wealth Redistribution" != "Investment in Children." :shadedshu

A country that takes tax money and spends it on children ends up with smart children 15 or 20 years down the road.

A country that doesn't, well, ends up like America.

uh, the USA spends more money on education per child than any other country in the world. money does not guarantee a good education and politicians peddling for votes by acting as charity organizations don't actually care about the children.

 

[DaedalusHelios]

A country that doesn't, well, ends up like America.

Are you trolling? Epic fail guy?

 

[btarunr]

uh, the USA spends more money on education per child than any other country in the world. money does not guarantee a good education and politicians peddling for votes by acting as charity organizations don't actually care about the children.

Money doesn't guarantee good education, but if it can set up the resources for good education, then it's doing its job.

This device will let some kid in a remote town take classes from some really bright teacher sitting in the city. It's backed by free internet and school-intranet, free access to tons of e-books, etc. Money does make a difference.

And no, this isn't charity. It's how vast populations of poor are uplifted. There's absolutely no better way to go about.

 

[Easy Rhino]

Money doesn't guarantee good education, but if it can set up the resources for good education, then it's doing its job.

This device will let some kid in a remote town take classes from some really bright teacher sitting in the city. It's backed by free internet and school-intranet, free access to tons of e-books, etc. Money does make a difference.

And no, this isn't charity. It's how vast populations of poor are uplifted. There's absolutely no better way to go about.

true, in theory education programs like the one just implemented in india can indeed lift up the poor. but in reality this is one giant photo opportunity which generates great press for your politicians. i doubt that this program will generate any tangible return on investment though.

 

[mdm-adph]

uh, the USA spends more money on education per child than any other country in the world. money does not guarantee a good education and politicians peddling for votes by acting as charity organizations don't actually care about the children.

Uh, [CITATION NEEDED]. Education is pretty much deregulated in the US -- how can you say how much any particular school is spending on students? You can't. If you did some research, I think you'll find a few regions of high-spending schools bringing up the average for the vast majority of schools in the US. The same goes for test scores.

 

[btarunr]

true, in theory education programs like the one just implemented in india can indeed lift up the poor. but in reality this is one giant photo opportunity which generates great press for your politicians. i doubt that this program will generate any tangible return on investment though.

What makes you think the a government would distribute 100 million of those devices for a ... photo opportunity?

If our politicians wanted that, there are cheaper ways to do it. In return if it generates even 10 million decent students who will go on to pursue higher education, that will give huge dividends to the economy.

 

[Easy Rhino]

What makes you think the a government would distribute 100 million of those devices for a ... photo opportunity?

If our politicians wanted that, there are cheaper ways to do it. In return if it generates even 10 million decent students who will pursue higher education, that will give huge dividends to the economy.

right, because a glorified iphone touch is going to change to change the course of education in india.

 

[btarunr]

right, because a glorified iphone touch is going to change to change the course of education in india.

Yes it will. 70% of our population is rural. That's nearly 750 million people. If their children can get better education, access to new books (as e-books), access to resources on the internet, yes it's going to change the course of education in India.

 

[Easy Rhino]

Uh, [CITATION NEEDED]. Education is pretty much deregulated in the US -- how can you say how much any particular school is spending on students? You can't. If you did some research, I think you'll find a few regions of high-spending schools bringing up the average for the vast majority of schools in the US. The same goes for test scores.

it is actually quite easy to find this information. and a basic understanding of stats also helps.

from the NCES, a government department...

http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=66

and then couple that will percentage of GDP spent on education...

http://www.visualeconomics.com/how-countries-spend-their-money/

you can easily calculate that the USA spends more money on education per child than any country on earth.

 

[n-ster]

Most of the western civilization spend enormous amounts of money in education per child... That is a certainty...

Doesn't mean all the money is spent WELL, but it wouldn't surprise me if USA were in the top 5... I think Canada would be higher though, since with the small population of children, we invest a hell lot in education... University here is as low as < 3000$ for an IV league (ie: McGill), and it isn't because McGill is cheap to sustain, it's because of the money that the gov. invests

But still, USA has the most international students for a reason

 

[Easy Rhino]

Yes it will. 70% of our population is rural. That's nearly 750 million people. If their children can get better education, access to new books (as e-books), access to resources on the internet, yes it's going to change the course of education in India.

this device does not guarantee a better education. and given the actual cost of research/development/production/distribution i highly doubt it would be any better than building more schools and hiring more qualified teachers.

 

[mdm-adph]

it is actually quite easy to find this information. and a basic understanding of stats also helps.

from the NCES, a government department...

http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=66

and then couple that will percentage of GDP spent on education...

http://www.visualeconomics.com/how-countries-spend-their-money/

you can easily calculate that the USA spends more money on education per child than any country on earth.

Like I said, on average. I don't doubt that what's true for America is true for a lot of wealthier countries -- a smaller group of well-educated individuals bringing up the average for the mass majority of people who can't find their own country on a map. (With spending per school almost directly reflecting performance.)

I'll give India that -- maybe the majority of its peoples are currently in Poverty, but show the average schoolchild in India a blank map of the world, and I bet they can find their country.

It's investments like this that will lead to India reaching parity and overtaking the US in the 21st century.

 

[btarunr]

this device does not guarantee a better education. and given the actual cost of research/development/production/distribution i highly doubt it would be any better than building more schools and hiring more qualified teachers.

Likewise, American spending most on education does not guarantee better human resources. It just doesn't.

I won't argue any further. You can ridicule this initiative, dismiss it as some random government's "photo-opportunity", claim that "since we spend more on education, and since this is a 'glorified iPhone' we're still better", until one day you realise what's been cooking up in India-China all these decades.

"We can't afford our kids to be mediocre at a time when they're competing against kids in China and kids in India," - Barack Obama. source.

That's what spending "the most amount of money" got American school kids. Mediocrity compared to Chinese and Indian ones.

 

[Easy Rhino]

Like I said, on average. I don't doubt that what's true for America is true for a lot of wealthier countries -- a smaller group of well-educated individuals bringing up the average for the mass majority of people who can't find their own country on a map. (With spending per school almost directly reflecting performance.)

I'll give India that -- maybe the majority of its peoples are currently in Poverty, but show the average schoolchild in India a blank map of the world, and I bet they can find their country.

It's investments like this that will lead to India reaching parity and overtaking the US in the 21st century.

i dont doubt india will overtake the US in this century, especially since the only way politicians think they can solve education problems here is by increasing the education budget. couple that with the entitlement attitude of young americans you can pretty much forecast the decline of the american empire.

personally i can not fathom how a glorified ipod touch is going to help the rural citizen of india get a better education. it seems to me to be a very short to solution to a long term problem.

 

[n-ster]

Don't forget one thing.. you know why indians and chinese do so good at school? Because that is all they got to make a life for themselves and they know it... They want to be the best... My origins are indian, but I'm a true Occidental being born and raised in the west. When I saw the other "indian" boys do so well at school and always being screamed at by my parents becaused they kept comparing me to them, the BEST, I realized what their motivation was. They didn't have an Xbox like me, they didn't even have TV!!! If they would ever want any comfort in their lives, they'd have to earn it, not like us spoiled bastards who can slack off

 

[Easy Rhino]

Likewise, American spending most on education does not guarantee better human resources. It just doesn't.

I won't argue any further. You can ridicule this initiative, dismiss it as some random government's "photo-opportunity", claim that "since we spend more on education, and since this is a 'glorified iPhone' we're still better", until one day you realise what's been cooking up in India-China all these decades.

"We can't afford our kids to be mediocre at a time when they're competing against kids in China and kids in India," - Barack Obama. source.

That's what spending "the most amount of money" got American school kids. Mediocrity compared to Chinese and Indian ones.

i am actually arguing the opposite. spending more on education does not equal a better education here in the US. obviously in developing countries like india and china things are much different.

i am fully aware of how indian and chinese govts are pushing initiatives to compete with kids in the US just as i am fully aware of the US govt pushing lame initiatives to cripple education.

 

[btarunr]

personally i can not fathom how a glorified ipod touch is going to help the rural citizen of india get a better education. it seems to me to be a very short to solution to a long term problem.

The rural kid is going to attend e-classes (schools in which classes from cities are streamed live onto plasma screens), replay those classes on the Sakshat, read books from e-libraries (for free), doesn't that make things better?

For you something like a tablet PC or iPad is probably just a fancy leisure gadget. But when all its functions are put to productive use, a tablet PC is a very powerful tool.

 

[DaedalusHelios]

Yes it will. 70% of our population is rural. That's nearly 750 million people. If their children can get better education, access to new books (as e-books), access to resources on the internet, yes it's going to change the course of education in India.

Most of those areas don't have power or drinkable running water. How would they charge it? Is it solar?

I think food, clean running water, and a safe structurally sound place to stay would come first though right? To pay off debts people still sell there wives and children. That cannot be solved with a tablet PC.

To those it may concern:

Also you cannot say India has a better education system than the USA or even remotely close and not be just ignorant or trolling.

Work through the numbers from the CIA:

India spends 3.2% of its $3.56 trillion GDP educating up to 1,173,108,018 people.
USA spends 5.3% of its $14.26 trillion GDP educating up to 310,232,863 people.


I believe the best way to help India is to control its population growth as effectively as China. Then they can begin to prosper and have that kind of growth that China is having. Of course they need to fight their problems with corruption too but that has to be solved by other means. I have many friends from western India in the business community here. They fled religious persecution in India. Christians aren't exactly safe there.

 

[btarunr]

Most of those areas don't have power or drinkable running water. How would they charge it? Is it solar?

It's not "most" anymore. In the places that do have drinkable running water and electricity, sakshat will make its way.

India is adding 20,000 MW of power generation in the next 5 years, and spending billions on irrigation.

I think food, clean running water, and a safe structurally sound place to stay would come first though right?

Yes, government initiatives to give the cheapest food (Rs 1 per kg of rice), free housing are already in progress, Sakshat is running parallel to those development initiatives.

To pay off debts people still sell there wives and children. That cannot be solved with a tablet PC.

That's a typical first-world statement. "How can you do x when there are people starving?" Well we're feeding them and educating them in tandem.

 

[n-ster]

You don't want to educate the absolute poor, those children are already working, might not be able to read, and have no electricity... They aren't the future, they have no real knowledge... No, they are targeting the 'mid-class' of Indian (which easily falls into the poor in the western society)

They would actually have a little education, can afford 30$ for their child AND make them not work, have electricity and food...

remember, at under 1$ a day, 30~35$ is over a month's salary... Plus the time that your child is not working, + electricity costs... It would not be feasible for them

 

[btarunr]

India spends 3.2% of its $3.56 trillion GDP educating up to 1,173,108,018 people.
USA spends 5.3% of its $14.26 trillion GDP educating up to 310,232,863 people.

A 300-page college ruled notebook costs $0.10 in India, a ballpoint pen that lasts decently long costs $0.05, etc. What does it cost in the US? By now you must already be feeling stupid for comparing two totally different economies like that.

 

[Easy Rhino]

i dont know... there are so many problems in india it is hard to see an initiative like this one do any real good. i could be completely wrong but considering india's financial situation this investment seems very risky.

 

[btarunr]

I believe the best way to help India is to control its population growth as effectively as China. Then they can begin to prosper and have that kind of growth that China is having. Of course they need to fight their problems with corruption too but that has to be solved by other means. I have many friends from western India in the business community here that fled religious persecution in India. Christians aren't exactly safe there.

I will not allow this discussion to become a general India-rant.

i dont know... there are so many problems in india it is hard to see an initiative like this one do any real good. i could be completely wrong but considering india's financial situation this investment seems very risky.

Yes, there are many problems in India and they're being addressed in tandem.

 

[Completely Bonkers]

I'm not defending the Indian education system, or belittling the US one; I know very little about either, but:

The amount of money per child, or the salary per teacher, or the cost of books, or the cost of security, or rent and redecoration of classrooms, or the medical bills, or the expensive training courses for teachers, or the the cost of building new schools and paying off fat developers, or the cost of supervisory boards, and the salaries of school inspectors, and the cost of equipment, use of power, cost of having a gardener keeping those beautiful lawns trimmed, has NOTHING to do with the QUALITY OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM.

Someone might argue that if the USA spends more than anyone else on education, it is only because it is the least efficient. Perhaps through making the school system more efficient, taxpayers money can be saved or used for other community needs such as health and wellfare?

By the way, why not take those CIA numbers and look at some ratios, like divide by the cost of the average hot meal, or bottle of water, or average salary of an office worker. It will give a better impression of relative cost to the average person.

 

[n-ster]

I doubt India needs a 1 child per family or else thing lol.... That's just ridiculous

Corruption isn't that bad in India as it was 20 years ago... actually, it isn't bad, therefore not much of an issue. If there was much of a Corruption issue, the gov. couldn't have put so many programs in place.

Christians, Sikh, Buddhist, Hindu and Muslims are all 'safe' in India lol... Only in rural communities can it get bad, but a businessman would definitively be at home in India. Just like 'Caucasians' are not 'safe' in poor Ghettos of the South... You don't have to go to the other end of the world, just move out of the freaking ghetto