Grid Computing Funda For Education?

Of late, there is a lot getting published on the sad state of Primary Education in India, how neglected it is, yet how it holds the key to India's future growth etc. The Economist argues in its latest lead/cover article that unless major supply side constraints like Primary Education are not solved, increasing demand in the fast growing Indian economy will lead to overheating and even a meltdown.

However what has now set me thinking impromptu is this post by Shekhar Kapur on primary education. How about starting a network that taps the computer that exists in each of our brains. Kind of like the fancied grid-computing concept in computer technology? A grid of people, who will visit villages or slums to teach for half a day on weekends and holidays.

So what do we need to get this going?

• A team of half a dozen dedicated folks interested in teaching part-time.
  
• Algorithms to form virtual classes attaching teachers to specific villages and classes. Meet 'supply' of teachers (time slices) with 'demand' from the needy children leveraging technology.
  
• Course material (follow the 'prescribed syllabus of the regular school' or enhance it) or leverage some of the e-Learning material CDs that are developed
• Ideas on deploying technology (some old computers, some CDs with good material). One could later on leverage satellite communications to download study material real time or have some 'remote classes' during evenings of weekdays.

The IT industry is 1 million strong and using some 'Chinese Math', 1% of this million will mean 10,000 teachers. Even 1% of this 1% ~ about 100 teachers and will take this idea well past its critical mass.