Comments for pritamkabe

Comment on Basic Education in India – Lack of Teacher Accountability, NOT Technology, is the Real Issue. by Aparna Sheth Bhatia

Aparna Sheth Bhatia — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 07:53:26 +0000

Didnt have any idea of what goes on in that part of the country…. which is a shame too. But thanks for sharing this whole article. It is well researched. Do pass on such links more often. Thanks, Aparna

Comment on Basic Education in India – Lack of Teacher Accountability, NOT Technology, is the Real Issue. by pritamkabe

pritamkabe — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 04:28:01 +0000

Hi Aparna, true. But if i’m not mistaken, according to the newly passed Right to Education (RTE) Act, teachers are not allowed to teach tuition classes. But as you know, the biggest hurdle in India is not passing laws/regulations, but enforcing them. Also, a lot of the government teachers (especially in rural India), don’t show up to school, and have 2-3 jobs on the sides. This is due to a total lack of accountability. The teacher knows that he/she will never get fired, and will have a steady income coming (as the salary structure is seniority-based and not performance-based). And due to a total lack of moral accountability/responsibility, the teacher has no motivation/incentive to perform well…which is a shame!

Comment on Basic Education in India – Lack of Teacher Accountability, NOT Technology, is the Real Issue. by Aparna Sheth Bhatia

Aparna Sheth Bhatia — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 12:59:19 +0000

Hi Pritam, I was just wondering how did you not broach upon the topic of tuition and coaching classes in the field of education in India. Being in Mumbai, I feel one of the main reasons for teachers not being accountable for their jobs, is the whole culture of tuitions and coaching classes. Over here we have tuitions even for a 1st grader ! I dont know what is the reality in small villages but I believe the same exists in most metro cities. Dont you feel that such a parallel education system should be removed for teachers to do their jobs well at school?

Comment on BRICs Series – 7 : Security and the BRICs…and the Role of the United States by SP

SP — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 21:11:40 +0000

Hi,
It is very interesting comparison. Thanks for sharing it.
regards

Comment on Need to Make “Teaching” A Valuable Profession in India! by Leigh anne

Leigh anne — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:38:19 +0000

Pritam, lovely so lovely to see you. Keep iterating and prototyping! dschool.stanford.edu

And keep telling your story. People will respond to the depth of your commitment, promise.

Comment on Education System in India: ICTs Cannot Work Their Magic Alone! by Shyam

Shyam — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 12:57:08 +0000

true… not sure who said this, but it still rings true: Power does not corrupt men; fools, however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power

Comment on The Right to Education (RTE) Act in India is Ridiculous! by karen

karen — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 17:37:09 +0000

wow. cudnt be better…. every point is so valid! i agree completely with you. and disagree wid de idea of rte act, govts ridiculous attempts and de nuisance they r creating… 3 superb, amazingly put together, true points.

Comment on Internet and Democracy by Woo Young, Chang

Woo Young, Chang — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 05:41:21 +0000

Thanks!! I really appreciate your analysis, I’ve always wanted to get a grab on this issue and you’ve been a great help

Comment on The Mobile Money (M-PESA) Phenomenon in Kenya! by My village diary 10: “My sister wired cash via cellphone” « Terry Mutuku Blog

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 18:30:54 +0000

[...] 1. I ran out of cash yesterday after purchasing chickens!!! I called my sister in Nairobi and asked her to change some Canadian dollars and wire the cash to me. She changed the money at a forex bureau , walked to a Safaricom dealer nearby, wired the money to my father’s cellphone, at a fee of 50 shillings . Within seconds, he received an SMS from the company informing him that the money had been wired. He then walked to the Safaricom dealer at the market to collect the money. The entire transaction took a few minutes and cost less than a dollar. M-Pesa, Safaricom’s money transfer and banking system is phenomenal here in Kenya. It is most convenient, effective and affordable. Read more about M-Peasa on pritamkabe blog. [...]

Comment on Some thoughts on the “Digital Divide” by Michael R. Nelson

Michael R. Nelson — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 12:28:26 +0000

As William Gibson is famous for saying, “The future is already here – it’s just not very evenly distributed.” http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Gibson

I personally HATE the term “Digital Divide.” I’m trained as a geologist, and I know that a divide is very hard to get over–and it usually gets harder and harder the closer you get to the divide. The term lead some fatalistic people to conclude that they are forever stuck on the wrong side of the “Digital Divide” and that they are doomed to be unconnected.

So I much prefer to talk about the “Digital Lag.” The explosion of cellphones and smartphones are reducing that lag and enabling people in remote villages in Less Developed Countries to get the benefits of the Web. But that is a lot easier if governments open up their markets to foreign investment; foster competition in fiber backbones, landlines, and wireless; AND, perhaps most importantly, strive to eliminate the corruption that has been associated with the granting of licenses to telecommunications companies. For a case study, see http://bx.businessweek.com/telecom-industry/view?url=http%3A%2F%2Fc.moreover.com%2Fclick%2Fhere.pl%3Fr3745366957%26f%3D9791