IT and society: Amazon to send Kindles to Africa

A charity called Worldreader.org, which is attempting to boost literacy rates in the third world using technology, has persuaded Amazon to send a big pile of Kindle e-readers over to Africa. E-readers classroom trials will take place in local comprehensive schools in Ghana, Rwanda and Kenya.  Ghana’s Ministry of Education is running a trial to find out two things – firstly if the e-readers can pump up the percentage of Ghanian kids who read, and secondly whether opting for ebooks can reduce some of the spending on textbooks that its schools are forced into. It’s being initially tested among 11-12-year-olds. Ereaders price is supposed not to exceed 75$.