The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said the Educational Satellite (EDUSAT) pilot project would commence operations in southern Indian Karnataka state, of which Bangalore is the capital.

"The pilot project will cost the agency 900 million rupees. The aim is to upgrade the quality of teachers in rural areas and help education reach the villages," ISRO chief Madhavan Nair said.

"Other states such as (the western Indian state of) Maharashtra and (central) Madhya Pradesh will have similar projects," Nair said.

India's communications satellite INSAT-3A, currently in orbit, will be used for the project and once the special educational satellite, EDUSAT, is launched in June, the services will be shifted, he said.

In Karnataka, the project will test the audio and video capabilities of the satellite when it links more than 70 engineering colleges. It plans to extend the programme to all 113 engineering institutions in the state.

In other Indian states the project would evolve specific training capsules for teachers and test the content designed for students, ISRO officials said.

ISRO chief Nair said that once the EDUSAT was launched, the agency expected more users such as educational institutions and research agencies to come forward to fund the network.

"To meet the full requirement of the country it may be necessary to add a constellation of satellites in a phased manner," he said.

Research done by a team of ISRO officials before the pilot satellite educational project showed 87 percent of Indian students dropped out of school before they passed the 12th grade and that the country housed 350 million illiterates, about a third of the country's estimated one billion population.

"Only 50 percent of the teachers are educated up to secondary level (10th grade) and institutions to train the teachers are vastly inadequate," said K.N. Sankara, director of Space Application Centre, which develops equipment for spacecrafts.

"There is an acute shortage of good teachers. The pilot project aims to provide effective training facilities, greater community participation and monitoring and take education to every nook and corner of the country," Sankaran said.

K. Kasturirangan, former chief of ISRO, said India spent only 4.1 percent of its gross domestic product on education.

"The project faces enormous challenges," he said. "First one has to develop software and content. Then there is evaluation and monitoring to be done. A study will also have to be underway to know its impact on the society. But it will be a benchmark one," he added.

SPACE.WIRE