Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) India

Education policy and Strategic plan development

GeSCI engaged with the Federal Government in 2006, to assist and provide strategic advice on the development of a “National Policy on ICTs in School Education”. The consultative processes for policy development as facilitated by GeSCI  acknowledged the deep rooted democratic values of the nation, indicated by the engagement of almost every segment of the ICT in education community in this process. GeSCI was able to mobilize the Education community to think in terms of a comprehensive framework to ensure effective integration and best utilization of ICT in School Education. This translated into the Ministry’s acceptance of the need for a comprehensive ICT in School Education Policy and an Implementation strategy to support the policy.

GeSCI ‘s role as a strategic partner to the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD), Government of India, led to the development of the policy process which was designed to be open, consultative and collaborative, while ensuring a strong base for knowledge sharing across communities. GeSCI led several open sessions on Policy Recommendations with partners and stakeholders in the ICT in Education domain in India and Asia.

Some notable achievements in an ongoing process have been:

• The formation of a National Platform for Policy Discussion. GeSCI was able to provide a serious, single platform of engagement for every major stakeholder in the ICT in Education domain in the country to share their experiences and learning at multiple levels. Specific recommendations came in through regular workshops with partners from state governments, Industry, World Bank, NGOs, Bi Lateral organizations , teachers, students and school managements
• Activating an online community of about 1500 members and running an e discussion on the thematic issues of the policy. This exercise helped to generate more than 400 responses to the policy content which is now compiled in the Compendium of Feedback.
• The formation of the Ministerial Drafting Committee to write the first draft of the National Policy on ICTs in School Education. GeSCI was a member convenor in the six member drafting committee.