Students work for rural digital literacy
The same computer lab also functions as a cyber cafe and serves as an easy access to digital services for the villagers.
New Delhi: While targeting the widespread problem of lack of digital literacy in rural India, a group of Delhi University students have initiated project “Udaan” which aims to set up computer centres in rural areas. Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies (SSCBS) is promoting digital literacy by creating sustainable business enterprises owned and operated by women in the villages.
Their entrepreneurial venture, started in 2015, involves setting up of computer labs, which consists of computers built with the reallocation of discarded computer devices.
According to the team, the dual-faceted benefit model of the enterprise helps to tackle the problem of poor disposal of e-waste in the urban areas by channelling used and waste computers into the village computer labs after doing the necessary repairs.
At present, one such lab is running in the Kaloi village of Jhajjar district, which is being used for teaching the children basic Microsoft functions and facilitating their school study. The same computer lab also functions as a cyber cafe and serves as an easy access to digital services for the villagers.
“Millions of people in rural India are deprived of the benefits of modern technology, simply because they cannot afford access to it. Thousands of students in government schools in these areas miss the benefits of computer education, a vital skill to shape their future. By setting up a computer centre in these areas, our venture seeks to tackle this problem by focusing on skill development and inclusive growth,” SSCBS team said.
While, the school authorities in Jhajjar have been actively assisting SSCBS in the identification of a willing and enterprising woman, the training process of the entrepreneur is carried out in collaboration with Godrej.
SSCBS has also formulated an agreement with Panasonic, which ensures that students who complete the vocational training course will be guaranteed a spot in their placement process.
It plans to open centres and train women entrepreneurs in the villages of Mavikala, Suhana and Khurrum Pur in UP and Mubarakpur, Jahangirpur and Gijarodh in Haryana.