When I read the report about $100 lap top from One Lap Per Child (OLPC) championed by Negroponte, I find myself wondering is this a good project? So whe I saw this article today — one more on this topic — I again started wondering whether this project will help children in developing world? I must be missing something because I find myself feeling that this is an idea that is based on thinking that what is good for USA is good for everybody and hence if we can find a way to bring down the cost, we will help them bring up themselves to USA level. I don’t see recognition of their needs and sensitivity to their cultural requirements needed to help people learn and improve their living.
But then, I am no expert on these topics.
You are absolutely right. Actually, the mid-day meal scheme
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-day_meals) has done a lot more for education (lowering drop-out rates and improving the nutrition level of children so as to benefit from schooling) than any other scheme in India. Higher retention rates have led to higher female literacy ratio which has in turm helped temper the population growth.