A mission of education

A tall, well-built man walked into the room, carrying a green and white laptoplike device and immediately attracted the attention of everyone present.

A man with a mission and a dream, and not just any ordinary entrepreneur, Satish Jha is a technologist trying to extend the reach of education to the masses.

Jha was Editor with The Times of India and the Indian Express Groups back in India. He also founded, mentored and nurtured a couple of dozen social projects with a focus on technology, business strategies and public policy in the areas of universal access to education, healthcare and bridging the digital divide. He is a member of the UN-GAID (United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development), Special Advisor to the Kofi Annan Centre and cochairs the World IT Forum (WITFOR). However, his current project is arguably his most challenging. Why challenging? Because he aims at getting the Xo Inc laptop to two crore underprivileged children who enter the education system in India ever year, in a program called One Laptop Per Child (OLPC).

The laptop has been developed under a team at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

My first impression of Satish Jha was that of a very composed and astute person, with a goal of spreading his mission and vision to all. His passion for this project was evident in his bid for sponsorship from the Union Bank of India (UBI) Chairman M V Nair at the recent launch of the UBI Sydney branch opening. Each time I saw him speak with someone, young and old alike, he was passionately sharing the importance of OLPC for India, and how the project could help these children.

So I was very curious, not just about the influence behind his passion, but also how he foresees the laptop changing the education landscape in India. And he certainly was a man with answers!

Jha took me back to the beginning of his involvement, at a Baramati technology conference he helped convene in 2002 for Sharad Pawar (former Chief Minister of Maharashtra). Nicholas Negroponte, the founder and Chairman Emeritus of MIT’s Media Lab attended the conference and they discussed the needs of education for the underprivileged child in India. While Negroponte’s journey with OLPC had already begun, Jha helped put more reason and energy into the project to help turn the idea into a cost-effective and useful reality.

The Xo laptop’s current model for OLPC, competes or in many instances beats, most netbooks in the market today. It is tough enough to withstand rough handling, is maintenance-free, rechargeable with human power and has an innovative mesh network slated to replace the WiFi technology. The model in India today costs between Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000, depending on duties and tax.

When asked about key donors who support the initiative, Jha is quick to reply that they are visionary leaders. He goes on to talk about leaders in governments who are not bogged down by bureaucracy, but who understand the importance of education in the future of a nation and state’s development.

The government is where his biggest challenge lies. Says Jha, “India’s progress for the past sixty years, has been in the past - be it going to the moon eighty years after the first man landed on the moon, or just looking at seven generations ahead, this has been my biggest difficulty to date.” But he never expected the road to be easy and stresses on finding support from a range of people across the world. For example, M V Nair has now committed to take the laptop to a hundred villages in India where UBI’s branches are located.

“Private or large organisations continue to defy governments in India in supporting the extent of the program,” laments Jha.

He adds that other leaders of governments in the developing world in countries like Uruguay, Peru and Rwanda have invested in the program for all children attending public institutions.

This bureaucracy does not easily bog down Satish Jha. He believes that in the next few months, they will reach their target of three million laptops across India. The momentum is in his favour, and he is open-minded about the way ahead. On questioning the resistance he may get from poor parents, Jha explained by taking me back to his roots as a child.

“I preferred to spend the limited money I had on books, instead of food,” he recounts. “And I think children understand the importance of education as a basic need of life, alongside food.”

Perhaps the fact that Jha can relate to the need and importance of education, is his biggest strength. His marketing budget for a project this scale is zero, and yet he is confident of meeting targets. He is essentially the Richard Branson of OLPC India when it comes to being a brand for the project, and he shares his passion with everyone around him. And that is what makes him someone who truly makes a difference where it counts.