BLENDED LEARNING TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF PRIMARY EDUCATION

OBJECTIVES

·        To propose indicators for benchmarking the quality of education delivered by Indian school systems;

·      To identify factors influencing the quality of education using the proposed benchmark, to demonstrate how an ICT-driven blended learning framework can improve the quality of education for underprivileged and low-performing primary school children.          

SUMMARY

In India, the pattern of educational development is starkly dualistic in nature. The education spectrum witnesses excellent urban schools that are comparable to the best institutions in the world, but they are expensive and only a handful. On the other hand, there are low-end Government-aided public rural schools which are in deplorable state. Poor performances of these rural schools are marked by teacher absenteeism, inadequately trained teachers, non-availability of teaching materials, inadequate supervision, and little support. Children from rural schools often drop out due to factors like an unattractive classroom environment, teacher absenteeism, teacher-centered teaching, and a stagnant daily routine. In this situation what seems to become pertinent is to actually understand the parameters of quality education and observe the role of ICT-driven blended learning framework as an important factor in imparting quality education in areas where there is dearth of it.