The youth must be encouraged to exploit the unlimited prospects for entrepreneurship in sectors such as tourism, hospitality, agri-business, and several other areas shared, Rashmi Singh, Principal, Poddar Brio International School, Badlapur, Maharashtra in an exclusive conversation with Sheeba Chauhan of Elets News Network. Edited excerpts:

Recently, Education Minister launched The Yuva Sangam portal which will concentrate on organising youth-exposure tours for students from North Eastern States to other states and vice versa. How do you think such initiatives are going to develop multicultural education in Indian students?

The Yuva Sangam is an initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to build close ties between the youth of the Northeast Region and the rest of India under the spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat. Under the initiative, over 20 thousand youth will travel across the country and gain a unique opportunity for cross-cultural learning. Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat Yuva Sangam will focus on conducting exposure tours of youth between the 8 North Eastern States and other States.

I strongly believe that such tours will provide an immersive experience of various facets of life, development landmarks, recent achievements and youth connections in the host state. The opportunity for the youth to experience a multi-dimensional exposure under five broad areas – Paryatan (Tourism), Parampara (Traditions), Pragati (Development), Prodyogik (Technology) and Paraspar Sampark (People-to-people connect) will undoubtedly strengthen the unity in the diversified culture of our country. Moreover, after having understood the above-mentioned parameters the youth of the country which is one of the major strengths of the country will be able to closely understand the needs of the society, and accordingly, they will have opportunities to apply their skills to meet such needs of the society and hence, contribute towards the progress of economy of the country.

According to the economic survey 2022-23, enrollment at the pre-primary level decreased from 1.1 crores [11 million] in 2021 to 1.0 crores [10 million] in 2022. Your comments on the same The number of children entering pre-primary classes in 2021- 2022 saw a further decline, resulting in 30% fewer students in this school section as compared to the pre-COVID period as younger students with less access to remote learning continue to bear the biggest brunt of learning loss during the pandemic, according to a report released by the Ministry of Education. Also for the first time since the pandemic, the report records a decline in the number of schools due to closures as well as a lack of teachers. There were 20,000 fewer schools in 2021-2022 as the total number of schools dropped from 15.09 lakh to 14.89 lakh.

I feel that parents of all age groups look for a progressive school that is capable of delivering quality education keeping all the significant parameters of wholesome development of students in its implementation. I believe that such schools never had experienced any decline in preprimary section enrolments. All the stakeholders in the field of education must ensure that the learning in the school should be regular and progressive and the child should experience a happy learning environment to keep the balance between the enrolments and quality education.

With the crashed job market across the world, how are you going to train your students to be competent citizens in the outside world? Do you think ‘ Becoming job providers, instead of job seekers’ will improve the unemployability rate in India?

It is observed that “Professional universities of developed countries are roping in students from all over the world to enhance their own economies. It should be the prerogative of our universities to empower students to contribute to our nation’s economy,” However a majority of the youth population still sees government jobs as the ideal career. The youth rather must be encouraged to exploit the unlimited prospects for entrepreneurship in sectors such as tourism, hospitality, agri-business, and several other areas. As stated by our former president, Dr. Ramnath Kovind, “It is the knowledge that will allow us to find solutions to the problems we face in our world, nation, and society. Research and innovation hold the key to lifting our people out of poverty, ensuring their health and well-being or attaining food and energy security,” he also said. The goal of our central universities should be to constantly grow and upgrade themselves as per the best of global standards.

I strongly feel that market crashes will never emerge for those businesses which keep upgrading and enhancing, entrepreneurs, must keep close track of the changing needs of society and accordingly work to meet the changing needs. Hence it is significant for the youth to understand that their role as job providers rather than job seekers would boost their own ability to contribute towards the sustainable growth of society and to their own self.

What are your thoughts on the usage of AI tools like ChatGPT, Bard etc for creating content and various other uses? Do you think it will hamper the quality of education in the long run?

AI helps streamline the student education process by offering access to suitable courses, bettering communication with tutors, and giving them more time to focus on other life aspects. AI enhances the personalisation of student learning programs and courses, promotes tutoring by helping students improve their weak spots and sharpen their skills, ensures quick responses between teachers and students, and enhances universal 24/7 learning access. Educators can use AI for task automation, including administrative work, evaluating learning patterns, and grading papers; AI gives teachers a clear picture of the lessons and subjects requiring reevaluation. AI gives students a customised learning approach depending on their unique preferences and experiences. Through AI tools, classrooms are now globally available to students, including those with visual or hearing impairments or who use different languages. When many students give the wrong answers to their homework assignments, the system alerts the professor and offers future students customised messages that provide hints the correct answer. They grade tests, evaluate homework, fill out the needed paperwork, make progress reports, organise lecture resources and materials, manage teaching materials, and more. This means they might spend too much time on non-teaching activities, leaving them overwhelmed. With the help of automation tools and solutions, educators can automate manual processes giving them more time to concentrate on teaching key competencies. Intelligent tutoring systems, including AI chatbots and tutors, and tutoring programs are designed to handle customised feedback and guidelines for one-on-one teaching. Nonetheless, they can’t replace teachers because they aren’t advanced enough to teach the way humans can. They help in cases where teachers aren’t available for subjects that can be taught and assessed online. Smart content may include digital guides, textbooks, videos, instructional snippets, and AI, which develop customised environments for learning organizations depending on goals and strategies.

I feel AI will enhance the quality of education by personalization in the education sector, which is a future world trend that can be achieved by pinpointing the areas where AI solutions can play a role.

The emerging edtech has gained immense success in the education space but the ride has seen many bumps in between. How do you see the changing landscape of the edtech industry and will it impact the school education ecosystem?

E-learning platforms are transforming the education sector in the country by bridging the gap between supply and demand. With affordable internet charges, even the rural sectors can use such platforms for personal and professional development. Language learning, online tutoring and technology skills development are the dominant themes in the education landscape of the country. The fast-paced emergence of Edtech has transcended beyond classroom boundaries within no time. The education system is evolving and attaining a more holistic approach. With industries directly connecting with e-learning institutions. the content has never been so up-to-date. All this put together makes e-learning platforms complete, and students and working professionals future-ready, in a matter of months.” The eLearning penetration is observed in various large and medium-sized organizations for a cost-effective mode of skill development and training sessions. In the current scenario of technological disruption, professionals have to re-skill themselves every 4 to 5 years for being relevant to their existing job roles. As already hinted, the Government of India is taking a lot of initiatives to boost and accentuate the e-learning sector. Thus it is adapting to the technological revolution. “E-learning platforms are bringing a measurable difference in students’ engagement and performance. It is reducing gaps in the delivery of education and giving a new dimension to the education space.”

According to renowned educator Welton Fitzwater, “The Future of the world is in my classroom today.” The statement is true to its core with the emergence of the new-age classroom in the era of digital transformation. Edtech is one of the major sectors that have been affected by digitisation. The multi-channel approach to the education sector has enabled students to gain knowledge via various mediums besides classrooms, like smartphones, desktops, laptops, tablets etc.

I strongly feel all such online platforms and learning sites contribute to the fast-growing Edtech sector of the nation. Besides the online platforms, schools and colleges also take part in the educational revolution and it will better the school education ecosystem.