Peru’s president to meet with Gates, writes News.com, to sign accords for the plan.
Officials say Plan Huascaran has provided about 100 schools in Peru with Internet service and teaching tools. The government aims to increase that number to 5,000 schools by the end of Toledo’s term in 2006.
The drive is part of a campaign to improve education–illiteracy rates are high, especially in isolated highland or jungle areas. More than a quarter of women in rural mountain areas, for example, cannot read.
The article doesn’t mention anything about hardware and software. My suggestion: for USD 3,000, each school can set up 10 Thin Clients and a Thick Server with Internet connectivity. Each addition Thin Client will cost USD 150. Spread the cost over 3 years (rental model), and it works out to less than USD 100 per month. This is what emerging markets need for grass-roots technology literacy.
