Sujata Bhatia            sbhatia@tarahaat.com

TARAgyan, the education division of TARAhaat, stemmed from the need to spread computer related education in rural India. Eager that the Information Technology revolution should not bypass the rural areas as the Industrial revolution had, TARAhaat launched its courses in Rural India to equip the populace with IT skills. The courses were deployed through TARAhaat’s cyber kiosks known as TARAkendras. Initially, TARAkendras were set up at Jhansi and now within four years of operation, they are functional in many areas in Punjab.  TARAhaat has grown steadily with forty TARAkendras today. The VISION of TARAgyan is to build bridges for individual and community development in rural India, through the rural entrepreneur.

                The TARAkendras became the hub for new courses, on Information Technology, for the youth. Starting with simple IT course modules like Computer Fundamentals, Word, Power Point and Excel, TARAgyan has further developed advanced IT courses like C, C++, Access and FoxPro. The rural youth now have these prized courses at their doorstep, cutting short the travel to long distances to acquire education. Moreover, TARAgyan has made available the various IT courses in the local languages also. This was a path breaking step in educating the rural youth.

                As the interaction with the people at the mandis and small towns increased, TARAgyan realized the need for conducting a practical course in English. Most people in rural India knew how to read and write in English but were hesitant to speak. Thus was born TARAgyan’s Practical English Learning Programme. This four month course, using interactive and fun techniques, taught the students to develop confidence in terms of speaking in English. This course was developed using various media – workbooks, cassettes and CDs. To cater to the level of the learner, two levels of courseware were developed – foundation and intermediate.

                Aside from these courses, TARAhaat launched courses in Computer Hardware assembly, Tally, Master Effective Selling and IELTS. Computer Hardware Assembly is a much ‘in demand’ course as most people like to know about the working of computers, which have become an integral part of their daily lives. In this course, they learn how to deal with essential hardware components, how to use the tools to disassemble or assemble the computer and the basic aspects of troubleshooting. Tally is India’s most popular accounting programme. This course is especially designed to enable students, professionals and businessmen learn accounting in a fast and intelligent manner.

                IELTS is an examination requirement of some foreign Universities while granting admission to students from other countries for secondary, vocational and training programmes. This course helps the learners gain an in-depth understanding of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and the skills required to appear for this test. Launched in April 2005, two of TARAhaat’s students have secured enviable band scores of 6.5 and 7. 

                In the pipeline are TARAgyan’s HTML course, Digital Media and Networking Essentials. The Networking course will give the students a working knowledge of computer network construction and operation. The course will teach the steps for setting up small networks in Cyber-cafes, Computer institutes etc. The target audience is basically students, individuals and professionals, who want to increase their awareness about Networking computers.

                Digital Media is an ‘experiment and learn yourself’ kind of course. It teaches the learners how to get started with digital media. It also includes digital photography, audio, and digital video. The Digital Media course will be very beneficial for individuals willing to learn about Photoshop and Movie Maker softwares. It is expected to be sought after even by Photo Studio owners.

                HTML basically teaches how to drive in and create a simple web page. It also covers how to add links to other pages, create tables and put images on a webpage. This is one of the basic courses and the target audience would be any individual willing to go in for web designing.

                TARAgyan’s philosophy has been to use the best of information and communication technologies and create a unique shift in communication for learning - from the conventional one-way, top-down approach to the two-way, interactive system; from cramming of data and unrelated information to understanding and mastering the subject. TARAgyan’s teaching methods are designed to make learning an efficient and fun process.  Being computer-based, the courses are easy to adjust to the student’s aptitude, learning style and progress. TARAgyan operationalised this thinking by defining three streams to begin with: vocational education, self-improvement courses and conventional education. To maintain the quality of course delivery, TARAgyan has a stringent selection process for its IT and non-IT Instructors. Regular assessments and trainings of the Instructors ensure the quality of course delivery.  Course up-gradation is an ongoing process because of the need to define and redefine application based curriculum. One of the greatest challenges TARAhaat faces is to establish linkages between education and employment.

                Last  year, TARAhaat was one of the only two companies selected to provide Microsoft’s programme, through its TARAkendras. The mission of the Microsoft programmes in India is to provide world-class IT education to women and girls across villages and towns of Punjab, UP, MP and Haryana. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for girls and women to receive high quality training that will help them in unlimited ways – improve their studies, open up career opportunities and assist them in simple day-to-day activities.q
 

Back to Contents