Human Face of Technology & Its Deployment: A Case of Adult Literacy Program

The problems faced by humanity cannot be solved with old technologies. Most scalable solutions need advanced and emerging technologies that are creatively blended with the existing and rapidly evolving infrastructure. One such problem that is being addressed is the illiteracy that is prevalent in several parts of the world. There are an estimated 200 million adults in India who are not literate. At the current rate of literacy growth (1.3% per year), it would require about 1 million teachers and 30 years or more to achieve 90% literacy rate. The solution lies in using modern technology to speed up the spread of literacy in India. To address the illiteracy problem, Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) used its expertise in Information Technology to conceptualize and develop Computer Based Functional Literacy (CBFL) for its Adult Literacy Program (ALP). CBFL has the potential to lift India´s literacy rate to 90% in record time of about five years. The TCS CBFL is an innovative teaching method delivered using Information and Communication Technology (ICTs) and is based on the Theory of Cognition and Laws of Perception. It just takes 40-45 learning hours to make a person literate and the pilot was experimented way back in 2000 and achieved 100% success. According to UNESCO, the definition of literacy is to attain three R´s (Reading, writing and arithmetic). The CBFL has helped more than 141,163 people (till 2009) become literate and introduced them to the world of the written word. Post-CBFL, adults are able to read newspapers, sign official documents, help children with their homework and even understand bus routes. This paper highlights how socially beneficial solutions such as the case adult literacy as well as sustainable solutions can be engineered by packaging the innovations in Technology for the benefit of humanity.