During the last decades the government and agencies have invested heavily in the integration of computer in education and information and communication technology (ICT) towards advancing the educational sector. The use of computer has imparted positively in education and other related areas. The computer literate students have shown improved outcomes in multiple ways, a lot of which shows up in their confidence to advance their career. Let’s first understand as to what is computer literacy in the context of education.

Computer literacy is the knowledge and ability to efficiently use computer. It can also refer to the comfort level someone has in using the computer and its application in solving specific problem. It involves being able to operate the computer efficiently without an aid and manipulate the software associated with it. This being a part of school curriculum is important.

Improving education quality is a priority for most developing countries. Policy makers agree that such improvements could lead to structural shifts in future work force productivity and boost opportunities. Educators are pushing greater computer literacy requirements since student exposure needs to be repeated for better understanding. Computer literacy is a crucial component for success at a higher education institution or a job, since the student interacts with the school, the faculty, co-workers and the community by using the computer. In certain situations students cannot complete their coursework or search for online solutions without this competency.

Following points bring out as to why computer literacy is necessary for today’s students:

1. Improved Communication – Communication plays an essential role in the life as a student as well as in life beyond that. If one thinks of the various modern ways to communicate, there is always a level of computer literacy involved. Presentations in the class, ability to share one’s ideas and thoughts with the larger world needs computer literacy as a basic tool.
2. Boosts confidence – There is no doubt that wherever one goes for any work, the interaction with computers is omnipresent. A person without computer literacy finds himself at sea in such situations and feels himself inferior to others, even if he has a superior subject knowledge. It is, therefore, very important for students to be offered computer literacy as part of curriculum standard.
3. Supports entrepreneurship – Computer literacy and entrepreneurship are directly related. Computer literacy is a great leveller and ensures that anyone from anywhere can research her thoughts as well as execute the same. It also offers great flexibility to start small and expand with success and time.
4. Enhance employment opportunities – A primary objective of education in developing world is to help students get a job after completion of education. Today’s jobs require some level of understanding. As the complexity of jobs is increasing and size of manpower is being crunched, the person who has better computer skills, certainly holds an edge. Also, there are certain jobs where a basic level of operating devices is essential.

The government has been taking many initiatives to bring computer literacy to every student. However, issues like resource crunch inhibit it sometimes and that’s where non-government players (NGOs) play an important and constructive role. Pradeep Richa educate foundation is one such NGO, which has been ensuring that students are imparted necessary computer literacy.