International Journal of Education and Development using ICT

International Journal of Education and Development using ICT > Vol. 10, No. 2 (2014)

ICT Oriented Toward Nyaya: Community Computing in India’s Slums

Erik Jon Byker, Stephen F. Austin State University

Abstract
In many schools across India, access to information and communication technology (ICT) is still a rare privilege. While the Annual Status of Education Report in India (2013) showed a marginal uptick in the amount of computers, the opportunities for children to use those computers has remained stagnant. The lack of access to ICT is especially common in India’s urban slum areas, which is privy to the “Matthew Effect” where the poor become poorer based in part on the scarcity of high-tech resources. This article’s purpose is to describe and report on ICT program interventions that target young people living in India’s slums. Specifically, the article examines a case study of a grassroots effort, called the community computing model, in Bangalore, India. Using Amartya Sen’s work on nyaya and Paulo Freire’s work on concientization, the article explains how this model of community computing infused and developed a social justice oriented and deeper “critical consciousness” of the slum community where this computer center was situated.

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