THIMPHU: n additional to recreational equipment like swings and slides, computers, too, could soon become part of a children’s playground in Bhutan. By providing free and unlimited access to computers and the internet, children from “less affluent” backgrounds will be able to educate themselves on how to use a computer, and even provide themselves with some basic education. Sounds too good to be true?

Well, that is the idea behind an information technology department (DIT) pilot project that commences in Bhutan this December. Three computers will be installed at a playground in Changjiji as part of the project, popularly referred to as “the hole in the wall experiment” by the foreign media.

The peculiarity of the name stems from the idea behind the concept. In 1999, a chief scientist at one of India’s leading software companies, NIIT, Sugata Mitra, decided to place a computer into a hole dug out in a wall that separated NIIT from a slum neighborhood. The idea was to see how fast and how far the slum’s children would manage to educate themselves, without any formal training and help.

“It was very successful,” said DIT director, Tenzin Chhoeda. An impact that the DIT director said fit exactly into the DIT’s goals of bridging the digital divide and taking ICT to everyone. “Basically, we’re looking at all possible strategies, and this was one that addressed children outside the schools.” The director said that, since most children in the Changjiji area were not from affluent families, the number of them having access to computers would probably be low.

“It’ll be a bit of an education, bit of entertainment, keep them occupied and, in the process, get them excited about computers,” said the director. Besides internet connectivity, the computers will have educational and entertaining applications (games) designed for children. “Hopefully, it’ll pressure their parents into buying them computers,” he added. “If they can buy television sets, why not computers as well.”

The computers, similar to automatic teller machines (ATMs), will be enclosed in steel, to prevent tampering and damage from people and natural elements, and will most probably be installed in booths. They will be left unsupervised.

The computers will also be remotely monitored by DIT and NIIT. Users will be monitored on what sites they access, what applications they use, and the number of hours they spend on the computers. The project will be expanded in Thimphu and other dzongkhags, if analysis of the results show that usage is promoting ICT use and knowledge.

“It’s unique in the sense that the computers will be left unsupervised and outdoors,” said DIT IT officer, Sonam Choki, “the community will be responsible for their care.”

UNESCO has funded the pilot project at a cost of USD 26,000.