Space science to promote science in rural areas

Bangalore, May 10: Educating rural young through satellite has become very popular in village schools and scientists should explore more such medium to bridge the education gap between the urban and rural areas, Additional Secretary in Department of Space S V Ranganath said here today.

Speaking at the two-day workshop on 'Communication Strategies and Delivery Systems to promote Science and Technology among the rural people', organised jointly by ISRO and DAVP, he said the standard of education in rural areas had remained very low and governance which had 'gone to the pits' should be blamed for this.

"The standard of Governance in this country had steadily declined during the last three decades and it is now in the pits. The problems faced by the rural mass is due to decline in the standards of governance. People in power should seriously introspect. This has led to a churning in the society," he regretted.

Mr Ranganath said modern governance medium like e-Seva in Andhra Pradesh, Gnandoot in MP and e-Choupal in some Northern states had been useful. Though well intended, their use was still in primary stage and the governments should strive harder to popularise them.

"It is disturbing that three out of four engineering graduates in this country are not fit for employment. Then what can we expect from the education we are giving to the rural youth. If urgent steps were not initiated, the country will remain urban oriented. It is time to ask ourselves that are we performing to our potential. It has fallen mush shorter of expectations," he said.

He said concepts like teleeducation and telemedicine were gaining popularity. Due to ISRO's endeavor villages were connected with television programmes three decades ago and the organisation had grown strength to strength since then.

"The government want to take up the present strength of 27 million in schools to 50 million by the end of the 11th plan. But we do not have enough teaching staff. Education through satellite programmes will be the best medium as it was found out in Karnataka," he said.

Likewise, telemedicine was also proving hugely popular as people suffering from various diseases in the rural areas were now had access to expert's advise in many parts of the country where the system had been implemented with the help of private sector, he said.

He said Village Resource Centres can effectively bring the benefits of science and technology to the rural people. ISRO could give the technology, but more need to be done. Help from NGOs can go a long way in delivering science to the rural areas, he opined. ISRO Advisor S K Das said innovative methods had to be adopted to deliver services to the rural poor. ISRO should do one better by having a close interaction with the people belonging to rural areas as it had not really realised how the space programme had benefitted the rural mass to a great extent.

"ISRO has not touched the heart of the rural public. The conversation gap is glaring. A case of how space science benefitted a backward area like Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh could be a good case study. TV programmes beamed directly through satellites in the backward villages in this area had done a great deal in educating the people, while remote sensing had helped make fertile vast areas in Uttar Pradesh affected by high concentration of sodium. Why don't ISRO talk about its achievements," he asked.

DAVP Director General Umakanth Mishra said the workshop could help in drawing up guidelines to bring the benefits of science and technology to the rural areas. "This is the first workshop being organised in this line. This should have happened much earlier.

People and the country is expecting a lot from people who govern. It is high time that a plan of action is prepared," he said.

He said the concept of VRC should be popularised and it should not end up the way Krishi Vignan Kendras which had failed to take off. "The vision of PURA scheme should be fulfilled through initiatives like e-Choupal," he said.

UNI