FOCAL POINTS

Rural Multimedia Information Centers (RMIC)

Project Objectives

Project Description

Funding

Background and Development

Location of RMICs

Challenges ahead

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Project Objectives

The RMIC Project aims to help disadvantaged rural schools and communities learn how to use computers and the Internet to gain access to online information, connecting with developments in the rest of the country and the outside world. The RMICs are intended to serve as classrooms offering computer technology lessons and as multimedia libraries, and are open to students, teachers, as well as the general public in the local community. 

Project Description

Each RMIC is equipped with a central server, a micro-computer station for teachers and librarians, and at least 30 user terminals. It is designed to operate as a mini-LAN connected to the Internet, providing free online access to a broad range of regularly updated national and regional databases. In addition, each RMIC is provided with a collection of printed and digital books on topics relevant to the local school communities.

The school where the RMIC is located must have broadband accessibility, qualified key personnel, and an appropriate room to house the computers. The school principal signs an agreement stipulating that the RMIC would be open to the public after school hours and on Saturdays; that computer training classes would be organized regularly not only for students and teachers of the school but also for other schools in the area as well as for the general public; and that free consultation services would be provided to local farming technology stations.

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Funding

The cost of setting up an RMIC, including the complete package of equipment and library books, was initially set at US$20,000. It was envisioned that sponsors could contribute to the complete package or to a portion of its cost. In terms of the meager resources available to ESS, the outlay for this project has been considerable. In 2011, ESS had to reduce the size of the project to US$10,000, providing only for the package of equipment but not for the library books.

Other financing plans were also considered, including cost sharing with local institutions. For example, ESS financed only 50% of the cost of the two new RMICs in Yunnan province while the beneficiary schools were responsible for securing the rest of the funding from other sources.

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Background and Development

In the world today, knowing how to use computers is as essential a skill as knowing how to read and write. An increasingly large body of knowledge now exists beyond the realm of print and paper, and digitized information freely available over the Internet is expanding at an exponential rate. At the same time, technological advances have made it possible for people in remote areas to connect to the Internet. In order to help rural schools and communities benefit from this development, ESS launched the RMIC Project in 2007, as part of continuing efforts to help improve the quality of education in rural China.

Using accumulated savings from its administrative budget and a small portion of the funds initially reserved for ARSL projects, ESS launched the RMIC project in late 2007. ESS volunteers and representatives worked closely with local educational agencies and schools to draft the project documents, select the project sites, purchase the necessary hardware and software, set up and test the computer systems, and train the operation staff. By spring 2008, four pilot RMICs began operation in rural Gansu, Neimenggu, Ningxia and Sichuan.

Responses from rural school communities to the new RMICs were overwhelming. The RMICs opened up a new horizon for the students and teachers. Visits to the RMIC became a favorite extracurricular activity of the children. Teachers used the computers to prepare lessons and exchange ideas on problems and issues they encountered in the classroom. Teaching and learning became more interesting and interactive with the use of multimedia teaching material. Many teachers who formerly felt cut off in the remote areas indicated that they would be willing to stay on now that the Internet could connect them to the outside world.

Local farmers also used the RMICs to obtain information relevant to the cultivation, processing and marketing of their produce. A farmer in Sichuan reported that, with timely access to marketing information, he was able to sell all the 20,000 catties of oranges he gathered in a good harvest in 2009.

After the initiation of the project in 2007, ESS has continued to set up three or four RMICs each year in different parts of the country. By the end of 2012, ESS has established RMICs in 19 rural schools in ten different provinces in China. Click to view the locations of the RMICs.

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Challenges Ahead

Despite China's rapid overall economic growth in recent years, regional imbalances continue to keep many poor and remote rural areas deprived of the necessary resources. There is still much need for RMICs to help the disadvantaged rural communities gain access to and effectively use information and technology to improve their living conditions.

It will be a challenge for ESS to find the funds needed to set up new RMICs. The mechanism for cost-sharing arrangement, piloted for the two RMICs in Yunnan in 2012, will need to be further explored and evaluated.

For the rural schools, the challenge lies in keeping the RMICs well managed and effectively used. This may require some schools to consider ways to extend services after school hours in order to fully utilize the facilities, not only for students and teachers but also for the local community. Securing qualified personnel to manage the RMICs has also been a problem for some schools. In one or two cases, schools have locked up the RMICs after their technology staff quit the job.

ESS volunteers have visited the RMICs periodically on a random basis to assess their performance and met with relevant school authorities to discuss solutions for problems. ESS will continue to closely monitor the progress of this project to ensure that the RMICs are used properly and effectively, and that the schools selected for setting up new RMICs will meet the basic requirements for project implementation, including the assignment of qualified personnel.

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