As COVID-19 spreading across the nation, the government of India has extended the lockdown till May 17, 2020. The govt has asked all the public places to close down including educational institutions till further notice. All the important exams were cancelled or postponed due to the lockdown.
Bishwajit Kumar Singh, commissioner, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti has taken over the additional charge of chairman, National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS).
Singh is an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer at the joint secretary level. In 2015, he was transferred by the Central Government and posted as Commissioner, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti.
Speaking during a webinar organized by Elets Technomedia and digitalLEARNING Magazine Bishwajit Kumar Singh, commissioner, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti said “Navodaya Vidyalayas is a system of schools for talented students predominantly from rural areas in India. It was established in 1985 in two places. Over 2.80 lakh students’ are studying in our schools and over 43 pc are girls. NVS is one of the best residential schools in the country.”
Our focus is to provide better opportunities to talented students from rural areas, he said.
When asked about the admission process he said “We take students through exams which conducted with the help of state education department. We usually take admissions in 6, 9, and 11 classes. For class 6 the test is based on non-academic, for class 9 it’s based on curriculum-based and 11th class admissions are done according to board exam results. All the exams are done online.”
He also said Navodaya Vidyalayas are run by the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS), an autonomous organisation under the MHRD, Department of School Education and Literacy, Govt. of India. The Chairman of the Samiti is the Minister of Human Resource Development.
The subjects are taught in regional languages he confirmed.
Not only academic studies the NVS focuses on physical education. Our students are very robust and healthy as we prepare them for physical education and make them physically fit. We are inspiring students to opt for other career options, he added.
Over the COVID-19 crisis, he said the NVS had shifted their curriculum to online as the lockdown was imposed. They have allocated councilors for the students in this lockdown. The main challenge for them is to provide e-content to students in rural areas. E-content is available on every platform; we need to sequence it wisely. The online classes can be supportive but cannot substitute the physical classes. In online classes peer to peer learning cannot happen, he added.
When asked the difference between KVS and NVS, he said KVS the catchment area is urban areas and we focus on rural parts.
He also added they are providing good promotions to teachers and they hire experts for every section.
He also added NIOS has been broadcasting its educational content on television through the SwayamPrabha channel. This is to aid students in continuing their education remotely while they stay confined to their homes.
