Information Society Watch

October 25, 2007, Associated Press (CNN.com International)

This article explores a possible turnaround in the Indian government's initial negative response to the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) programme, which India's education minister allegedly called "pedagogically suspect" for requiring children to take the machines home for maximum exploration. Despite India's refusal to participate, OLPC persisted in talks with government officials, businesses and NGOs and convinced them to launch a pilot test involving 22 rural schoolchildren in Maharashtra. OLPC has been forced to learn many lessons as the costs of the laptop have risen and demand has been far less than expected. The programme has become more flexible about its goals by taking smaller orders and working on alternate distribution schemes, and in the case of India it is also learning the importance of working with local partners. If the pilot test goes well, perhaps India may reconsider and choose to participate in OLPC after all.

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