Turning people’s aspirations into reality

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August 2, 2022

Swami Atmanand was a renowned social reformer and an educationist belonging to Chhattisgarh. He established ashrams and libraries in Raipur and other districts. He was interested in the development of sports as well and also contributed to the growth of Panchayati Raj institutions. Chhattisgarh State Government has rolled out its dream project – Government English Medium Schools – SAGES in the name of a true Sage-Swami Atmanand.

Why the poor choose private schools

Millions of parents spend their hard-earned money to pay for their children to attend private schools, whereas they have the choice of availing the free education facilities in our government-run schools. The PROBE report (1999) has pointed out that poor parents perceive the quality of private schools to be higher than that of government schools. This is not restricted to perception and the quality is higher in terms of the level of teaching activity & time spent on teaching. The report also indicated that higher levels of teaching activity and closer attention to students, and the greater accountability of private schools to parents also result in a better quality of education.

When the present government came into power, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel decided to introduce government English medium schools in districts to fulfil the aspirations of poor parents by providing world-class quality education in English medium at no cost to them.

How these schools came into existence

To open these schools, a series of criteria were taken into consideration. These included having a functional school in the urban slum area locality; low enrolment with classes from primary to secondary; having another school nearby to accommodate the students and teachers of selected schools to continue their education in the Hindi medium; the school building should be where both Hindi and English medium students could continue their education on the same premises in different shifts. Further, the school administration to have exposure to nearby renowned private schools to learn the overall system of the functioning of a successful school model liked by influential rich parents and aspiring for not less than that in their proposed schools; school to have autonomy and take decisions at the local level, formation of a registered society for each school, with the collector as the Chairperson of the society, including educationists at the local level. There must be a pooling of resources and funds from DMF and other sources. The school building should be renovated, getting a beautification plan from an architect to have an attractive look on the school premises; school to provide a good world-class library, laboratory for Science, Maths, and computers, and a sports complex. Furthermore, the best Principals having schooling in English background were identified through rigorous screening process within the department and given training on school leadership and administration in State Administrative Academy.

Selection of students in these schools

Students studying in the base classes of selected schools were given first preference to continue in the same school accepting to change the medium of instruction
In higher classes, lateral entries were allowed to have students from Private English Medium Schools
These schools offered 100 percent free education from classes 1 to 12 in english medium
The students were selected through a lottery system to avoid unnecessary pressure on parents
50 per cent of reservations were given to girls and 25 per cent reservation for socially deprived groups
Orphan children who lost their parents due to corona were also given admission on a priority basis to support such children under Mahtari Dulari Yojna.

Ensuring the best teaching faculties

Teachers were selected from the department having English as their schooling background and interested to serve in such renowned schools

Society also recruited teachers from open market through proper screening to have the best teachers in these schools
Selected teachers were given induction training to provide quality education
All the posts of teachers and non-teaching faculties were filled at the earliest
SAGES Cell formed in SCERT to continuously provide academic support and monitor school activities
SAGES Hub system introduced with some schools to act as HUB and provide mentoring support to the nearby other five to seven schools.

Preparation and implementation of the academic calendar

Academic calendar for these schools were developed through a participatory approach and shared with these schools to follow
Academic calendar includes a month-wise break-up of academic events for the different sections. This calendar covers all the aspects of the curricular program such as celebrations and events, admissions process, vacations, teacher capacity development programs, examinations, staff meetings, exhibitions, seminars, field trips, and school events, etc.

Vision, mission, and objectives of SAGES

The schools were established with a vision of ‘Nurturing a mindset for excellence with Universal human values’. The mission focused on ‘To develop a creative, skill-based learning environment where our students feel motivated to discover their potential, scientific temperament, aim high, be competent and grow holistically with a mindset for excellence to become responsible and caring citizens with sensitivity towards their community and society thereby sustaining peace and harmony’. The objectives focused upon academic Excellence, value-based education, skill-based learning, inclusive education, opportunities and exposure.

Success factors of SAGES:

A number of factors have contributed in making SAGES attain success in the state. The primary factor is education being the state government’s top priority and in-person visit of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel of every SAGES. Further, selection of school principals were done at the state level to get better quality and high performing enthusiastic principals, having English background throughout. Subject teachers who have their schooling in English medium and who were interested to work in such model schools were selected. The selection of contractual teachers was undertaken through a rigorous process as per gaps and demand of different subject teachers in different schools. Upgrading the infrastructure by providing good library, laboratory facilities, playground and quality furniture in schools helped in attaining success. Also, beatification of existing schools with the technical assistance of architectures to become centre of attraction and having better learning environment attributed to the popularity.

While acquiring admission, parents were required to give an affidavit that they will provide mobile and internet facilities to children to support online education of their children because of school closures. Further, principals and teachers were given quality training to support the education of children admitted in such schools. The government took initiative for establishing an autonomous society for the management of schools under the leadership of District Collector. Resources were pooled from different sources not depending exclusively on the school education department.

Views expressed by Dr. S. Bharathidasan, Secretary, School Education Department, Government of Chhattisgarh.

Skilling not only pertains to the physical skilling activity but also the communication skill sets – Andra Vamsi

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August 2, 2022

Skill Development Mission is a dynamic subject and its concepts are very fluid. Skilling is a continuous activity and people should use it as an institutional mechanism to get trained and skilled for the betterment of their lives, says Andra Vamsi, IAS, Mission Director, Uttar Pradesh Kaushal Vikas Mission, in an interview with Tarannum Manjul of Elets News Network (ENN).

When we talk about NEP, skilling is an important factor. How is the skill development mission contributing towards it?

Basically, the skill development mission takes care of the skilling aspect of the age group, ranging from 14 to 35 years. Earlier, we did have a framework arrangement in place for school dropouts or college dropouts of the other segments. We are now just making it universal that it should be a part of the curriculum as per the national education policy.

The dropout phenomena can now be hyphenated as we can actually go for a universal curriculum where skilling is a mandatory aspect for each and everyone to excel in their lives. Skilling is always an evolving sector. Today, the skilling drive is being imparted in almost 1600 plus job roles in nearly 36 sectors, but the quality is not that good. So, we must strengthen our skilling drive and improve its quality. It is the need of the hour because the mission is hardly eight years old and it is still in the evolving phase.

We are expanding ourselves towards women’s welfare also. We are even advancing towards the secondary education department. So, in the secondary education department, people will be given a choice to opt for the skilling mechanism. On a pilot basis, this financial year, we are targeting to train and skill around 20,000 people which will add value to their education. In this way, they will feel confident and move forward in life.

Skilling not only pertains to the physical skilling activity but also the communication skill sets. So, we are strengthening our base on communication skills where international employment can also be posted through these skilling mechanisms. And last but not the least, the market is always a variable related to the skilling mechanism because the market is fluid and dynamic and we also don’t know what sort of skill patterns are required from the workforce. So, that sink has to be established in the market and also in the corporate houses or the industrial setup in such a way that the skilling practice that we offer, remain on par with the National Skill Qualification Framework 6. These emerging challenges warrant our skilling drive to be of excellent quality. We have to borrow the best practices from various states of India and try to amalgamate them into our system to ensure that it is being used for the betterment of our people.

What are the courses that UPSDM is offering to dropouts, specifically as we talk about a skilled workforce?

As a part of an organisation, I have to ensure that since absenteeism is very high, we are working very much on preventing this absenteeism. We have ensured an Aadhaar enabled biometric system in the skilling centers. Second, we are increasing the number of centers and number of batches, and providing quality training partners. There are almost 750 training partners who are below the enrollment target of 40%. So, we didn’t even take them on board and we are awarding them for the best performance or see who is really doing 100% good. We are encouraging them to perform well. Not only this, we are opening our ideas in terms of pulling up the engineering training partners. For example, engineering colleges, the startup training partners for the newcomers who are not able to produce the experience or cannot submit their experience, but we are trying to open a browser saying that we will give you a chance of six months to prove yourself. If the performance is good, then we are ready to take you on board. We are also going for flexible training partners, it is nothing but a corporate house that can offer captive placements. Captive placements are really the need of the hour because employment is a huge challenge for all of us. Also, to mention, the dropout is not the correct word that we should use. Instead, we should use a universal curriculum of skilling that should be part of the present education policy.

When we talk about a universal curriculum in India, it has always been debated that ours is a text-based curriculum and this is the first time skilling has actually been introduced to it. So how is the skill development mission contributing to it?

I have to say in our school or college days, we used to have something called extracurricular activities. It can be sports, photography, music, dance, and many other ideas that can nurture the skills of a person or the personality development of a student. So, skilling can also be a variable added to those kinds of factors.

What are the major skills which UPSDM is providing especially in the rural areas?

There are 36 sectors in which 1600 job roles are functional in rural areas. There, we can go for construction-related activities, IT, apparel and electronics-related activities. Nowadays, we see housekeeping activity, beauty and wellness, banking and financial services, electronics and hardware, food processing, green jobs, plumbing, power sector, and retail works also emerging and expanding in rural settings. We are also advancing into sports and tourism and hospitality. So, there is no end to this thing. Let the market come to us, let them submit the request, and we are ready to offer them.

So far, a lot of these courses are being offered by the ITIs, so how does the Skill Development Mission (SDM) find relevance here?

The duration of courses is the primary thing that we should understand. ITI has a certain duration of its own curriculum. ITI can be a government training partner. Almost 280 ITIs have been our government training partner. There are private training partners whom we have encouraged apart from the mission itself. The mission can be a common umbrella to amalgamate all these things and ITI can be one of these in the subset.

So far which are the biggest corporate partners you have correlated with?

We are dealing with RSWM, Raymond’s, Apollo Medics, Wipro, and GE Healthcare. And we are trying to pull up more and more. Flipkart is in our pipeline.

Is there anything specific that you would like to say in regards to the NEP and skill development mission?

With respect to skill development, I have to be very clear that we were following a top-down approach which is not the need of hour anymore. We have to start from the bottom because the working force has to be identified at the district level itself. This is exactly the last mile where we can generate employment and the district authority needs to remain more focused to review the centers and batches in order to ensure attendance, and halt absenteeism.

Also, they need to ensure biometric attendance in such a manner that the authenticity of the skilling mechanism is not lost. Greater focus should be kept on qualitative training, induction of new age courses, and new technologies or technology-related skilling activity. I can say that there are a lot of infrastructure facilities in the private sector that is lying idle, so they can be pulled up and encouraged to come forward and do their best.

What do you think is the biggest challenge for our skill development mission especially in a big state like up?

The first is communication skills, the second is absenteeism, and finally the third is the bottom-up approach or the decentralised approach.

“Technology is the carrier of education in the days to come” – Syed Omer Jaleel

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August 2, 2022

Syed Omer Jaleel, Commissioner Intermediate Education and Secretary, Intermediate Board, Intermediate Education Department, Government of Telangana shares with Hemangini Rajput of Elets News Network how Telangana, the youngest state in the country has already carved a niche for itself in the field of education by sanctioning and creating state-of- the-art educational infrastructure and university-industry connect.

What are the initiatives being taken by your department to strengthen education in the State?

The Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education (TSBIE) is always ahead in taking the initiatives to strengthen education, by working for all categories of students, i.e., academically poor, average and intelligent students. The TSBIE has been preparing curriculum and textbooks on par with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) & National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) by keeping in view all the National level competitive examinations like Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET). It really helps all the intelligent students and hence most of the rank holders are from Telangana state. At the same time, the TSBIE prepared Basic Learning Material (BLM) for the sake of the academically poor students to get through the Intermediate Public Examination (IPE). Further, the TSBIE has been giving online coaching for EAMCET (Engineering Agricultural and Medical Common Entrance Test), NEET & JEE.

The Department of Education is bringing about changes to ensure blended learning including classroom learning and online content. This way the students get a richer and more varied learning experience. The online content can give a better understanding as it can use 3D models to explain concepts. Further, slow learners can repeatedly view the content for a fuller understanding. Thirdly, online tests and evaluations help in understanding the learning trajectory of not only the students but also, the teachers. The online content from class 1 to degree levels is available on YouTube platforms of the department as well as telecast from the state education channel called T-SAT. Also, the latest advancements in technology like cloud computing, data analytics, artificial intelligence and biomedical engineering, etc., are introduced in the + 2 and other levels.

How do you see technology enabling education outreach?

Technology is the carrier of education in the days to come. With internet connectivity, education can reach the remotest parts. It can cover the absence of a lack of able teachers. It can help in timely & and accurate assessment of students as well as teachers, and it also helps the students to literally reach the sky in terms of availability of content.

The TS]BIE has become the digital platform by enabling Technology in Education. Almost all the (22) services viz. 16 students and 6 colleges are through online mode. Example, (1) Issue of Equivalency (2) Name Correction (3) Migration (4) Re-verification & Recounting (5) Pass Certificate Verification (6) Duplicate Memorandum of Marks (DMM), Duplicate Pass Certificate (DPC) / Triplicate Pass Certificate (TPC), (7) Attendance Exemption (8) Counter Signature on Transfer Certificate (9) True Extract of Marks Memo (10) Transcripts (11) Examination Fee (12) Group Change (13) Medium Change, Second Language Change (14) TC / Re-Admission. The TSBIE has been rendering its services with zero physical contact by providing Help desk, BIGRS (Board of Intermediate Grievance Redressal System) & Toll Free Number to avoid stress and strain among the students. Nine Clinical Psychologists are appointed to counsel the students before, during, and after the Examinations. Students can attend counseling through a Toll-Free No.

How are you ensuring skilling needs are being fulfilled by your department?

Telangana is a cluster of villages. Most of the students are from a rural and agricultural background. Vocational Education really serves the purpose for rural students to get early employment. In addition to regular vocational courses, short-term vocational courses were also introduced to attract rural students. On Job Training (OJT) is compulsory for all Vocational Students to have field-level knowledge and expertise. Recently, new vocational courses like Robotic Technology, Pharma Technology, etc. were also introduced to upgrade the vocational students for early employment.

The department runs twenty-two different combinations at +2 level in vocational education in varied fields like agriculture, engineering, commerce and business, computers and electronics, and paramedical fields. Recently, the government sanctioned six new courses in artificial intelligence, data analytics, biomedical engineering etc. In addition, short-term courses are also run in the above fields for three, six, nine, and twelve months. Additionally, the department is in MoU with the Government of India skill department as well as private enterprises for skilling internships for +2 students.

What are the challenges and opportunities of digitisation in the education system?

The TSBIE has addressed the COVID-19 Pandemic by taking on the task of digitisation of the content. The TSBIE has digitised entire textbook lessons and tele casted the video lessons through Doordarshan and T-SAT for the sake of all the Intermediate students to safeguard their academic interests of the students. In addition to this, all the digitised lessons were uploaded to the ‘You Tube Channel’ for the sake of the students who couldn’t attend through DD & T-SAT.

The basic learning material is also uploaded on the official website www.tsbie.cgg.gov.in of the TSBIE to make it available for all the students round the clock in addition to the physical material.

Your thoughts on making Telangana as a dream destination for education.

Ans: Telangana, the youngest state in the country, has already carved a niche for itself in the field of education by sanctioning and creating a state-of the-art educational infrastructure and university industry connections. The latest and best courses are on offer at top of the rung government and private universities. This is creating a knowledge society where the world’s top-most businesses are lining up to establish a business in Telangana. The TSBIE always takes a progressive path and the Board has many dreams and would like to take up more projects in the future to facilitate its stakeholders in all ways. On Screen Evaluation, computer-generated Question Paper (QP) is the futuristic plan of the TSBIE, and it is about to reach such milestones.

UGC dual degree programmes: Going beyond learning silos

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August 2, 2022

A As aspirational India undergoes a transformational overhaul, its education policy cannot remain static. It must respond to emerging demands and requirements of contemporary times. With the passing of time, everything changes for the better. Even Darwin’s theory of evolution suggests the survival of the fittest. That’s why, even our constitution-makers left the scope for amending the constitution to meet the aspirations of coming generations, whenever the need arises. Aligning with the objectives envisioned in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued guidelines regarding its recently launched dual-degree programmes.

The seed of inception

While the significant thrust of National Education Policy 2020 remains on making education more experiential, holistic, integrated, inquiry-driven, discovery-oriented and learner-centric, the double degree programmes by UGC will take the NEP’s mission forward. The programme was launched with the intention of making curricular structures more imaginative and innovative, to enable creative combinations of disciplines for study, that would offer multiple entries and exit points, thus removing currently prevalent rigid boundaries and creating new possibilities for life-long learning and centrally involving critical and interdisciplinary thinking.

Embedded avenues

The dual degree programme is certainly a future-oriented education policy launched with the sole purpose of taking our higher education segment to the next level. The dual degrees will certainly be beneficial for motivated students. According to the UGC Chairman, the decision on the double degree offering was made to allow students to acquire numerous talents. Now, students will have the opportunity to pursue two degrees simultaneously, and make themselves ready for the competitive world of the 21st century where specialised skill sets drive professional industry.

Dual degrees help in broad-basing an institute’s engagement with its partner institution. The degrees will allow for a more immersive experience, both academically and culturally. It allows students to study in an academic context that is equally rigorous, but different at the same time. They will get the opportunity to learn from and engage with specialised faculty members who may not be available at their first institute. They can also learn about new study practices, seek placement assistance from the partner institute, and gain a deeper understanding of global markets and their requirements. Upon graduation, they would be connected to the alumni networks of both institutes.

A combination of subjects will help students in their careers if they choose to pursue a double-degree offering. For instance:

Business and Computer Information Systems Almost every industry usually requires professionals who understand computer systems, programming and algorithmic processes, networks and data analysis. Computer science is responsible for the existence of the internet, digital photography, email and open-source software. Management information systems assist organisations in making data more accessible and valuable. So, this combination has great future prospects professionally.

Computer Information Systems and Accounting– An accounting information system collects data describing an organisation’s activities, keeps a detailed financial record of the organisation’s operations, converts the data into information and makes the data accessible to users, both inside and outside the organisation. People who have a degree in information systems have a wide range of career options. Jobs range from programmer analyst to business analyst, manager and chief financial officer.

Economics and Computer Science– Computer Science and Economics (CSEC) is a cross-disciplinary major for students who are interested in the practical and theoretical connections between Computer Science and Economics. Students who have done a masters in Economics and graduated in Computer Science can pursue careers such as data scientist, economic analyst and industrial economists.

The other way around

This decision will increase the load on universities. It also doesn’t increase the number of students enrolling in universities because the same student will study two courses. So, higher education’s gross enrollment ratio (GER) will not go up. According to the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2019-20, GER for higher education is at 27.1 per cent. The NEP has set a target of raising this to 50 per cent by 2035.

It will also lead to a demand for teachers in universities, as thousands of vacancies for current needs have not been filled. Several subject experts and scholars have pointed out that the UGC’s decision to allow students to take up two full-time academic programmes simultaneously in physical mode may hamper the quality of honours courses at the undergraduate level.

According to some experts, the basic philosophy of honours courses is to provide comprehensive, intensive, and advanced knowledge to students. And even in honours courses, students can opt for discipline-centric courses. In courses where practicals are as important as theory subjects, students pursuing another course alongside will disturb schedules and will create chaos for both students and faculty. Allowing students to earn extra credits is an understandable concept, but allowing them to earn extra degrees will just dilute the quality of the degree programmes. Another challenge is in fulfilling the UGC’s stand that there should be no hard separations between arts and sciences, curricular and extracurricular activities, vocational and academic streams, etc, in order to eliminate harmful hierarchies, and silos between different areas of learning. ng.

The way forward

With the rapid increase in demand for higher education and limited availability of seats in regular streams, several Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have started a number of programmes in Open and Distance Learning (ODL) mode to meet the aspirations of students. It has also led to the emergence of online education programmes which a student can pursue within the comforts of their home. As per experts, as every good thing embeds in it some faultlines and missing points, so is the case with this dual-degree programme of UGC.

This isn’t merely a dual degree. The students will earn two degrees for full-time study. While the student’s choice of core disciplines is up to them, based on their interests, it also depends on the institution’s resources. The two programs must be of the same level. Students can only pursue two bachelor’s, two master’s or two diploma programmes at a time. So, to make this program truly viable, a thought-over methodology is required. All the apprehensions and scepticism of students, teachers, colleges and institutions must be addressed comprehensively.

Taking education forward being locally rooted and globally connected

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digitalLEARNING Network

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August 2, 2022

The role of the pandemic in preparing the education sector to implement plans for continuity in education cannot be underestimated. Throughout the disruption of the pandemic, challenges in delivering sustainable education for all and the need to create an education model which supports student-centred learning and teaching going into the future became of paramount importance.

International Baccalaureate (IB) education leaders have reported that the keys to ensuring the continuity of education during the pandemic were; the use of technology, focus on student-centred learning, collaboration, and the prioritisation of 21st century skills, aligning well with the core elements of the National Education Policy (NEP).

At the start of the pandemic, nobody expected that what was thought to be a temporary measure in closing schools would lead to a year of online, remote learning. Although thankfully, when this transition to all-remote learning began, most IB students were digitally equipped to be able to continue learning, this wasn’t the case for every school context, and certainly not for every student. In those circumstances, teachers relied significantly on their students’ ability to adapt and be resilient to periods of disruption and challenge. It quickly became clear that delivering learning purely online meant that extra consideration needed to be given to ensure that learning and teaching were relevant to students. For subjects that required interactive learning, moving to the online world meant that it was impossible for teachers to deliver the same curriculum content. Once the initial problem of connectivity was addressed, evolving curriculum content to be suited to the new learning delivery mode became the next most crucial step.

To do this, educators evolved the content to be suitable for solely digital and remote delivery through student-centred learning focused on developing 21st century skills. By prioritising opportunities for the students to practice their adaptability, critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration skills, schools found they bolstered the motivation of their students to engage with the new ways of learning, and helped to achieve quality learning outcomes for students despite the disruptions. Many teachers and students reported greater demonstrations of agency and independent learning at a rate that could never have been predicted.

These experiences show that students and teachers do not need direct or face-to-face instruction as much as previously believed in order to have effective learning outcomes.

In a world where students were mostly learning from behind computer screens, it was clear that student collaboration needed to be prioritised. Thankfully, this was an easy task for IB World Schools due to the local and global networks that could be drawn upon. Throughout the pandemic, students learning digitally had the opportunity to collaborate with their peers from local schools and with those from across the world. They had a shared experience of the same or similar digital learning tools in a way that hadn’t been tried previously.

Both the NEP and the IB are aligned in prioritising the delivery of globally connected learning that is relevant to the local context. By examining local content through a global lens, students’ understanding is taken to new levels, and they emerge as internationally-minded people who can understand how their local context fits into the wider world stage.

When considering how best to protect the future of education, the lessons of the pandemic prove that many approaches to education have viability. There are schemes being considered that take advantage of non-digital resources: outdoor teaching and education, project-based learning that in parts can be conducted independently and at home, or collaborative home-schooling so that learners can share resources. Educators agree that while we are at the beginning of rethinking what ‘school’ looks like, the NEP is placing greater focus on the value of education by policy and decision-makers in India. As leading minds come together to construct the vision for the future of education following the disruption of the pandemic, the core tenet of student-centred learning should not be forgotten.

IB education leaders came together to discuss and reflect on their experiences, sharing key insights from their experiences, delivering education through the pandemic and how they are taking their learnings through to the future.

Register your interest for the full webinar recording via https://bit.ly/3utXcQD

Panellists:

Ms Prabha Dixit, Principal – Primary school, Akshar Arbol International School
Mr Rajesh Vasudevan, Head of School, Manchester International School
Ms Anu Monga, Chairperson, The Association of International Schools of India (TAISI)

Moderator:

Garima Pant, Senior Assistant Editor – Knowledge Resource Group, Elets Technomedia Pvt Ltd

CM Yogi inaugurates DBT; 1.91 crore children to enjoy benefits

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August 1, 2022

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the direct bank transfer (DBT) process of Rs 1200 per student to parents of 1.91 crore children for uniforms, sweaters, shoes, socks, schoolbags, and stationery items.

Addressing a gathering on the occasion in Lucknow, the Chief Minister said, “Before 2017, government schools were in a dilapidated condition with grass and vegetation covering the school buildings, while there was an absence of teachers and students and children had no motivation to go to school. In last 5 years, dedicated efforts were made to improve the condition and as a result, the number of students has significantly increased.”

The CM also mentioned that there were about 60-70 percent of female students and a large number of male students, who used to walk to their schools barefoot. However, today, when these children are provided with shoes and socks, uniforms and sweaters, they are filled with pride and have new energy for going to school.

The aim of the UP government is to develop state-run schools at par with the convent and private schools, Yogi said, “We implemented a new academic schedule for children, introduced innovative modules to make their learning easier, and as a result, the number of students has gone up which is also an encouraging factor for the Basic Education Department.”

Urging all the principals and teachers to dedicate themselves to the holistic development of children, the CM said that a teacher plays the most important role after a parent in the personality development of the child. Hence, it is our collective responsibility to shape the future of our children and address their needs with sensitivity.

“Our educational institutions have made us what we are today, so now it is our responsibility to make our educational institutions fit for our children,” he remarked.

Maintaining that usage of technology-based learning is the need of the hogi Adityanathour, Yogi said that technology must be efficiently utilised for improving the quality of education, and at the same time all our learning values, morals, and ethics should be kept intact.

The Chief Minister added that countries that attained freedom with and before India are today seen breaking down while India is celebrating its ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsava’, we must pledge to contribute towards making our country the most powerful nation.

“Our teachers and schools play a very important role towards the development of the nation, schools are the foundation unit for a strong and prosperous country and therefore, we must keep our schools as clean and pure as our religious places and must educate our children effectively,” he said.

Talking about the penetration of education to the grassroots, Yogi emphasised that every Gram Panchayat must be such that each and every child goes to school. Communication should be established with parents of children who are not coming to school and must be motivated to do the same.

The Chief Minister said that all schools must develop a schedule to conduct awareness sessions regarding the current events that are taking place nationally and internationally for a better understanding of children and for making them responsible citizens.

“No negative comments and negative feedback should be given to children. Teachers must take note of the weaknesses of the child and give constructive feedback and encourage a child to do better,” said the CM.

The CM also asked the teachers and principals to make children aware of the freedom fighters belonging to their respective regions to commemorate ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsava’. “Teachers and Shiksha Mitras must also ensure that the money provided today to the parents of the children is also utilised for the purpose it has been given and that children now attend schools religiously,” he added.

Speaking about the ‘School Chalo Abhiyan’ re-launched by the state government to increase enrollment of children in schools, after the Covid-19 pandemic, the most-affected sector was education. Therefore, “we made all efforts ranging from recruiting new teachers on a large scale to developing basic facilities in schools — furniture, washrooms, libraries, playgrounds — under Operation Kayakalp to win the trust of people in the government schools and encourage their children to attain education through these schools.” he added further.

Two years of National Education Policy – New Initiatives and Opportunities

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July 30, 2022

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan established a series of new education and skill development initiatives at an event held in New Delhi on July 29, Friday to mark the second anniversary of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

Addressing the event, Mr. Shah proclaimed several new endeavors for students and educators including school innovation policy, Vidya Amrit Portal, 200 virtual labs, a skill-India partnership with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) for a three-year degree programme, and a mobile app for a public consultation survey for the National Curriculum Framework (NCF), among others.

Talking at the event, Mr. Shah stated, “The purpose of education is to develop character, empathy, courage and to prepare students to deal with the challenges of life. The 21st century is the century of knowledge. NEP 2020 is for channelising knowledge for the development of the country.”

“NEP 2020 enriches knowledge and culture and is aligned with the aspirations of our society,” he added.

During the event, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, “Our educational aspiration is not only for earning degrees and certificates but also to achieve global good. National Education Policy 2020 is an antidote to Macaulay’s system of education designed to colonize our minds.”

The 34-year-old National Policy on Education, which was formulated in 1986, will be replaced by the NEP, which was endorsed by the Union Cabinet in 2020. It will pave the way for transformational reforms in school and higher education systems, with the purpose of making India a global knowledge superpower.

Teaching up to class 5 in mother tongue or regional language, lowering the stakes of board exams, a single regulator for higher education institutions except for law and medical colleges, as well as common entrance tests for universities, are part of the sweeping reforms in the new NEP.

Replacing the 10+2 structure of school curricula with a 5+3+3+4 curricular structure corresponding to age groups 3-8, 8-11, 11-14, and 14-18 years respectively, scrapping MPhil programmes and implementing common norms for private and public higher education institutions are among other salient features of the new policy.

Kerala government plans to launch new e-learning module for children on cyber threats

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July 29, 2022

The Kerala Government, led by Chief Minister (CM) Pinarayi Vijayan, plans to introduce a new learning module to raise awareness of growing cyber risks, especially among children. According to the government, this is an effort to promote digital literacy in the state.

The Chief Minister was speaking at Cotton Hills Girls Higher Secondary School, after inaugurating the “Koottu” program, initiated by the state police’s Cyberdome aiming to spread awareness on cyber safety among the children in the schools in the state.

The Chief Minister informed that the initiative will increase awareness and capability for addressing the risks in the online space.

In accordance with this initiative, the government has launched the Kid-Glove Cyber Security for Children, a public awareness campaign run by the Kerala police as part of their renewed attempts to make children aware of the dangers and threats of the digital world.

Additionally, CM Vijayan noted that with the continued growth in smartphone usage in the post-Covid-19 scenario, online education has become an important tool for educating kids and making them aware of the digital world for their future safety and security.

Sharing his views, the Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan stated, “The government feels that it is time to launch steps to achieve complete digital literacy just like our literacy movement. We are planning to go ahead with such steps. At present, children are the most vulnerable group in cyberspace and the ones most victimized by the online traps.”

Children are victimised by such traps because of their lack of knowledge and misunderstanding and there were instances of children losing even their lives due to this, the Chief Minister added.

Besides, he mentioned that the state government was advancing with the new digital literacy campaign to educate children about the pitfalls and dangers in cyberspace.

Further, the CM said that it was not appropriate for a social media user to retain a post even if the content was found faulty. Thus, he urged the people who control the social media domain to keep a vigil on such trends.

“As digital technology and online systems are now an integral part of day-to-day life, it is very important to have clear knowledge about all aspects of the digital world,” the Chief Minister added.

The “Koottu” program is a joint initiative of Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) and the state government to stop rising incidents of online child pornography and online crimes against children.

According to an official announcement, the Counter Child Sexual Exploitation (CCSE), Childline, Meta (Facebook), Inker Robotics, MAC Labs, IMA, and the non-governmental organisation Bodhini will assist in the implementation of the Koottu program by Cyberdome and the state police.

Earlier this month, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Koo, and the CyberPeace Foundation teamed up to launch the joint initiative ‘#CybersKool’ for raising awareness of cybersecurity among Indian youth.

Over the course of the next 11 months, the program seeks to make youngsters and college-level students in India more aware of the need to make social media and the internet reliable, safe, and trustworthy.

Elets World Education Summit 2022 confers awards of excellence to state government initiatives

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digitalLEARNING Network

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July 29, 2022

Elets Technomedia and Digital Learning, along with Collegiate and Technical Education Department, Government of Telangana, India as ‘Host Partner’, organised the 24th edition of the two-day ‘World Education Summit‘ in Hyderabad. The objective of the conference was to touch upon the various challenges emanating from privatisation, globalisation, and public financial crunch to understand the future directions of higher education in India.

The summit kicked off with the welcome address and the lamp lighting ceremony by Dr Ravi Gupta, CEO & Editor-in-Chief of Elets Technomedia. “Education sector is one of those sectors which is fundamental to creating a new India. The vision of the government of India of making a new India cannot be completed without empowering the education sector per se,” he said.

The lamp lighting ceremony was attended by Agus P Saptono, Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia, Mumbai; Dr Garima Panwar, Additional Commissioner, PI Kalaburagi Division Commissionerate of Public Instruction Government of Karnataka; Syed Omar Jaleel, Secretary and Commissioner, Intermediate Education and Secretary, Intermediate Board, Intermediate Education Department, Government of Telangana; Navin Mittal, Commissioner, Collegiate and Technical Education Department, Government of Telangana; Abhay Jere, Chief Information Officer, Ministry of Education, Government of India; Professor R Prasad, Director – ACAD Wing, ICFAI Group; Professor Saroj Sharma, Chairperson, NIOS; Dr Vinnie Jauhari, Learning and Skills Lead, Microsoft and Dr Shwetha Suresh, Head of Innovation, Swissnex, Swiss Consulate General, Bangalore.

At the valediction of the World Education Summit, an award ceremony to recognise quality and excellence in Higher & School Education was held. The felicitations were spread across two days. Day 1 recognised initiatives in the Higher Education and the Corporate sector and day 2 saw awards for the School Education and the Government initiatives.

K. Lalhmingliana, Director, Labour, Employment, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of Mizoram, was given the award under the category ‘Government Sector Initiative in skill development’ for the project PMKVY. Under his tenure, Mizoram has been the highest ranking state all over India under PMKVY 2.0, for the highest number of enrollments and placements.

The Department of Higher Education, Government of Madhya Pradesh, was given the award under the category ‘Government Sector Initiative in digital learning’ for the project eShiksha. It is an education management portal which facilitates blended training for its learners, providing hybrid learning with technology based virtual classrooms and traditional classroom training. More than 800 e-content have been prepared in Hindi and English languages and uploaded on LMS (Learning Management System) portal for major subjects of first year undergraduate. These video lectures and e-text can be accessed by students as well as teachers on their mobiles.

Navin Mittal, Commissioner, Collegiate and Technical Education Department, Government of Telangana was given the award for IT reforms in Higher Education. Professor R Limbadri, Chairman, Telangana State Council of Higher Education, Government of Telangana and Navin Mittal were awarded for the Project Degree Online Services Telangana (DOST). PGK Gajendra Babu, Assistant Professor of Commerce and State Coordinator DOST, was also awarded for his excellent work in Project DOST.

Three Government Degree Colleges – Nalgonda, Narsampet and Paloncha were given awards for A Grade Naac Accreditation.

National Institute of Construction Management and Research (NICMAR), Hyderabad was given the award under the category ‘Outstanding Leader in Global Higher Education’ and ‘Outstanding University in Executive Education and Placements’.

Government Institute of Electronics, Secunderabad; Government Polytechnic for Women (Minorities), Badangpet; KDR Government Polytechnic, Wanaparthy; Commissionerate of Technical Education, Hyderabad, Telangana; and State Board of Technical Education and Training, Hyderabad (SBTET) were conferred Institutional awards.

Rev Fr. Thomson Kinny, Principal, St. John The Baptist High School and Jr. College, Thane was given the award under the category ‘Educational Reformer of the Year’ and B Anil Kumar, Principal, Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Boisar was given the award under the category ‘Outstanding Contribution & Achievement in the Field of Education’.

Global Indian International School, Kuala Lumpur was given the award under the category ‘Excellence in International Curriculum Practices’; Vista International School, Hyderabad was given the award under the category ‘Innovative Practices for Academic Excellence’ and Jubilee Hills Public School, Rampally was given the award under the category ‘Innovative Practices for Academic Excellence’.

Some of the focus themes for the event included role of technology intervention in education, role of NEP as a game changer to revolutionise India’s educational landscape, pegging the growth of EdTech in the future and switching to teaching the four C’s — critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity.

The networking-cum-knowledge gathering delivered a medium for exchanging views and measures for transforming the Education industry. The summit witnessed 500+ higher education delegates, 120+ higher education leaders, 200+ school education leaders, 500+ school education delegates, 25+ international experts, 20+ government dignitaries, 50+ exhibitors, and 50+ knowledgeable sessions.

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University Grant Commission’s new portal to launch more than 23,000 higher education courses for free

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digitalLEARNING Network

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July 29, 2022

The University Grants Commission (UGC) on 28 July announced that over 23,000 higher education courses, including programmes on Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, and Early childhood care, will now be available free of cost on a new web portal.

The portal strives at bridging the digital divide and enriching the accessibility of higher education in remote parts of the country. It will be launched today as a part of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 second anniversary.

The UGC has linked up with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to incorporate the e-resources with their over 7.5 lakh Common Service Centres (CSC) and Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) Centres.

“As part of its efforts in making higher education accessible to all, the UGC has been constantly working in making digital resources available to students in English as well as regional languages,” stated UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar.

The CSC’s purpose is to deliver digital access and make e-governance services unrestricted to the citizens at their doorstep, particularly to those who live in rural areas.

“The CSCs and SPVs are being managed and operated by entrepreneurs who belong to the local community and are referred to as village-level entrepreneurs (VLEs). VLEs operate the centres to earn their living by delivering online services. These centres have computers and internet connectivity,” said Kumar.

The courses comprise 23,000 postgraduate courses, 137 SWAYAM Massive Online Open Courses (MOOC) in emerging areas, and 25 non-engineering SWAYAM courses. It can be accessed on the UGC portal for free.

M Jagdesh Kumar said, “All courses are free. However, for availing of the services and infrastructure of CSC/ SPV, a user has to pay a fee of Rs 20 per day or Rs 500 per month to reimburse the Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLE’s) efforts and cost of their infrastructure.”

“This is similar to other government projects like Ayushman Bharat Yojana, PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, e-Shram, Pan Card, Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan Yojana (PMSYM), and many others,” Kumar added.

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