NRI Wins $1 Mn TED Prize for Delhi Slum Education Project

The TED Prize is awarded annually to an exceptional individual who receives $1,000,000 and the TED community's resources and expertise to spark global change.

According to TED, after a series of experiments revealed that groups of children can learn almost anything by themselves, Mitra began his pursuit to inspire children all over the world to get curious and work together.

In 1999, Mitra and his colleagues dug a hole in a wall bordering a slum in Kalkaji in south Delhi, installed an Internet-connected PC, and left it there (with a hidden camera).

Soon, they saw kids from the slum playing with the computer, learning English and searching through a wide variety of websites on science and other topics, and then teaching each other.

Mitra and his colleagues carried out experiments for over 13 years on the nature of self-organized learning, its extent, how it works and the role of adults in encouraging it.

Lara Stein, director of the TED Prize, said Mitra " has not only created a remarkable body of research around self-directed learning, but he has support from teachers around the world who are tapping into his methodology with great success."

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