Convergence and collaboration driving innovation in education

Editorial

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August 4, 2022

Supported by favorable policy measures including the revolutionary National Education Policy and state-led reforms to push for inclusive growth, the education segment is witnessing the creation of unprecedented opportunities. Initiatives and impetus given to developing education in the state of Telangana are driving a noteworthy change. And these initiatives are spanning all classes, subjects, age groups, and streams, encompassing the entire education ecosystem.

The Telangana government has been able to successfully understand & identify the pulse of the present system and fill the gaps to accelerate the growth of the education sector to meet the current demands and also have an industry-ready workforce. Identifying the crucial role technology is playing today and in the times to come, the state government has been introducing relevant courses and programmes in the region to give students much-needed exposure.

It is noteworthy to highlight the budgetary allocations made by the Telangana government that included Rs 16,043 crore to the education sector for 2022-23, compared to Rs 15,608 crore the previous year in the budget early this year to accelerate the growth of the segment.

This special issue of the Digital Learning magazine focusing on the education initiatives of Telangana bring to the fore in-depth insights from Navin Mittal, Commissioner, Collegiate and Technical Education Department, Government of Telangana, Syed Omar Jaleel, IAS, Secretary and Commissioner, Department of Intermediate Education, Government of Telangana and other notable education leaders from across the country highlight the significant initiatives and measures being undertaken in the state.

We also highlight the role of technology in transforming the education landscape across the country and segments beginning from early childhood education to higher education and beyond. And as this special issue gets unveiled at the 24th edition of the World Education Summit, we look forward to two days of enlightening and enriching discussions around the various innovations in education in the presence of a galaxy of luminaries from across the country.

We hope you enjoy reading this special issue!

“Telangana has the potential of becoming the dream destination for education not only in India but also globally”

Interviews

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digitalLEARNING Network

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August 4, 2022

A state that has witnessed huge transformations in the higher education segment, starting 2018, Telangana has seen massive flexibility being provided to students while choosing their courses. Navin Mittal, Commissioner, Collegiate and Technical Education Department, Government of Telangana talks about the future landscape of education in the country with Hemangini Rajput of Elets News Network (ENN).

Telangana has expanded the ambit of learning with a renewed focus on technology-enabled learning as showcased by the recently launched courses on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) from this academic year. Could you elaborate upon the objectives of this push and other academic initiatives planned for the students?

Telangana has put a lot of focus on the new technology and the new age courses. For the last two years we have added almost about 25,000 seats in the new technology courses like artificial intelligence, machine learning, cyber security, robotics, data science, Internet of Things, in fact, the entire gamut of it.

I can proudly say that of the total seats added in the country, more than 20 per cent of those seats are in the state of Telangana, in the last two years. The Government of Telangana and the Department of Technical Education have laid that kind of emphasis. And it has been our continuous endeavour to encourage more and more students to take up the new age courses.

Apart from the full-fledged courses in this sector, we are also enabling students to do a minor in these courses. So, the students who are already in our engineering colleges, if they do about 20 credits in any field of specialisation, they can get a minor or a specialisation in their subject.

Thirdly, even for our degree college students, also, that is students who are doing B.Sc. we are starting AI/ML programs for them also. In fact a large percentage of B.com and B.Sc. students in the state are having computer science applications as an option, whereas in B.Com, 77 per cent of the students want to opt for B.Com computer applications. Similarly for the physical sciences also, the percentage is very high, almost 75 per cent upwards.

Last year, we also introduced a special course of B.Sc. Data Science, and Data analytics courses, are doing very well in the segment for the degree students. And this will really push the development of the new technology-related fields in the state of Telangana and in the country in general.

What are the special initiatives being taken to foster the technical education ecosystem in the state?

So, the special initiative which are being taken to foster the technical education ecosystem in the state is its multi-pronged approach. So, the first initiative is using technology in our education and that is being integrated in a very big way.

Of course, Covid was a one disruptor which forced us to go digital. But from the learning of covid we are integrating a lot of this digital ecosystem into our technical education system. Apart from this, we have also laid a lot of emphasis on the modern curriculum. So both in our engineering colleges as well as in our polytechnics, we have revisited the curriculum and made it more market-friendly which is what the industry needs. Also, we have made sure this is in sync with the latest technologies what students need to use when they go into the employment market, or they want to do something on their own being an entrepreneur.

The third initiative is that a lot of emphasis is being laid on reforms in the sector, which is making life easy for the students, and giving them a lot of flexibility in terms of how they want to shape up their careers in terms of subject choice, subject combination, and multiple pathways.

Finally, major emphasis is also laid on faculty development because unless you develop the faculty, they would not be able to teach. We expose our faculty to not only national best practises but also to international ecosystems in a very big way.

How do you see the future landscape of education in the country?

The future landscape of education in India is very bright. In fact, the last couple of years have been transformative in that regard. One is that NEP 2020 is a path-breaking policy regarding the direction, which especially higher education ecosystem is going to take in the country. Secondly, the overall technological development, which is taking place in the education sector.

Three, I think Covid 19 has been a big disruptor in changing the mindsets of people in terms of how we adopt technology; how we transform our education system. So, I think these three things put together are taking our system in the right direction. Personally, I am very optimistic and parallelly a lot of innovations are happening in this sector, especially in terms of how students shape up their career. In fact, work-integrated learning is a very big sector, which is now being adopted on a large scale and I see a lot of potential in this regard.

What have been the major transformations witnessed by the higher education segment in the state?

In the state, I would say huge transformations which have happened in the higher education segment. One of them was in the year 2018 when we went for a major overhaul of our government degree colleges, where we not only modernised courses, but also introduced new course combinations. Later in 2019, we went in for a lot of flexibility regarding how students choose their courses, which was first started with the government colleges and then extended to the private colleges.

We also revised the whole credit framework as well as the curriculum in 2019. And the net impact of that is our government colleges have seen a major upward trend. For instance, there has been a 68 per cent growth in the student admissions, in our government colleges in the state, which shows that once we show the quality and once, we address student choices, students are willing to come in a major way into that system. Apart from this, as I mentioned earlier, our emphasis is also in how we integrate technology into it; technology in multiple ways including technology in education and technology in teaching. That means students should be abreast of the latest technologies in terms of their learning. So I would say the integration of technology in multiple ways and has given us extremely good results and helped our students in their journey not only in terms of better employability but also an upsurge in students’ entrepreneurship.

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

The challenges and opportunities of digitisation are enormous. But each aspect of the education system can be benefited by digitisation. For example: in universities or college management systems it can be in terms of the use of biometric devices or facial recognition devices for attendance which we have adopted; it can be in terms of the use of e-office in our institutions which we have done in terms of evaluation. We have started on-screen digital evaluations and all our answers get scanned and are sent to the faculty members online who also evaluate them online. So this is the entire gamut of how digitisation can be done in administering the institutions.

Secondly, it is also about the use of technology in reaching out to the students. It could be through online programs, it could be through online classes, it could be through also use of hybrid mediums of education i.e., students who are not having success can also participate in the process through digital means.

And thirdly, as I said technology as education regarding new age technologies to be the focus of the educational journey. There are some challenges in terms of which this whole process must be handled very properly; in the sense that change management is very important, and up to what extent, we could leverage technology. In fact, covid has shown that simply online education will not help us in terms of student access because there is a lack of devices and lack of proper bandwidth at the student end but also in terms of the methodology or the pedagogy of teaching also. We have not yet been able to meet the full needs of students through the online mechanism and I think that is major challenge. So we must find out the best mix which is required for both the sides.

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

Telangana has the potential of becoming the dream destination for education not only in India but also globally, as we have done amazingly well in many sectors. We are known for IT globally. In fact, the big 5 of the world, Microsoft. Google, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook, all of them have their development centres in Hyderabad, speak of the IT progress which we have.

We have also done remarkably well in the pharma industry, as we are the major global exporter of pharmaceutical drugs and vaccines.

One of the challenges we have faced is that we were limited regarding Article 371 D in terms of our seats being reserved for local students, which prevented students from outside the states, as well as globally, from coming here for educational purposes.

To the great extent that has now been addressed in the Private Universities Act, wherein now almost 70 per cent of the seats are open to anybody. And I see huge interest in new private universities coming to the state of Telangana in fact some global interest regarding foreign universities is setting up its capex here.

Do we have a separate policy or anything for foreign students to come and study in Telangana?

India and UK have just signed mutual recognition of degrees, which was a major stumbling block, which means Indian degrees will be recognised in UK, and similarly, the UGC regulations have come up with the dual degrees, twinning programs/joint degrees, which is a great step forward.

What message would you like to give to our readers?

India is poised at a position that enables us to develop very quickly in the future, which results in a higher number of opportunities for employment innovation and entrepreneurship. Students should dream big. They should keep their goals high and work on themselves as much as possible to equip themselves with skills, knowledge, and the right attitude.

Fostering a professional learning environment for teachers

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digitalLEARNING Network

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August 3, 2022

Schools are temples of learning, and teacher capacity is considered one of the most significant factors that have a deep influence on student learning. Most schools do practice schedules for continuous professional development – CPD measures for faculty members. Yet, the quality of learning from the teachers’ side has a reduced repute. This is weirdly ironic. After all, aren’t they learning professionals? Vastly competent professionals who make use of avenues to learn and formulate learning and lead learning for others? Shouldn’t developers of amazing learning experiences for students also be the recipients of their own stellar learning experiences?

Ensuring deep and long-lasting learning experiences for all students, from elementary to senior secondary, is the strategic task that every school has to focus on. The teaching and learning department in each school has to be predicated on the belief that in order to attain this kind of learning for the students, must also attain this kind of learning for the teachers.

This is every now and then portrayed as ‘best practice’ or ‘exemplary form in the teaching-learning process’. The ideal conditions for learning are to ensure a suitable learning environment for all learners in school, no matter their age or experience. Because the most prevailing learning experiences for students are personalized and receptive, then what we have to suggest for teachers must also mark those inevitable qualities.

Formulating experiences for deeper learning

The teaching and learning department of every school has to develop a professional learning experience for teachers that is centered on the principles and practices of deeper learning for their students. In the process of articulating the content and learning outcomes for the work with teachers, school leadership has to understand that we need to plan their delivery model. How the teachers learn is just as important as what the teachers learned.

The leadership team has to show a keen interest in hearing directly from teachers about what is important to them in their own learning. Teachers will have a lot of experiences to share. It will be like no one had ever inquired them a query like this before. Teachers will have a number of previous experience related to the following:

How a professional continuous learning process is scheduled
Privileges and unique opportunities afforded to some teachers but not to some others
Decision-making about the topics and content selected prioritised for professional learning
Involvement of School Administration
The aptitude of fellow teachers in learning and collaborative works
The quantity of support they got after an early session.
The need for professional and continuous learning to be suitable and appropriate to the grades or subjects taught in different levels of schooling
Thoughts of apprehension and exhilaration about trying a new thing in the classroom
A mixture of release and satisfaction when students responded to practice and reached the preferred outcomes.

Feedback and Teacher Learning Experiences

The School Leadership team needs to make conscious efforts to understand the teachers and develop a co-created set of foundational beliefs and values about how the professional educators have to behave in the school experience of their own learning. Those principles will work as a guide to creating and delivering professional learning for teachers. This co-created list can work as the team’s playbook for planning. From its first use, it is expected to serve as a meaningful checklist, helping the leadership to create something impactful for teachers and students.

The leadership team has to build a Deeper Learning Foundations programme for teachers using these principles. As the school nears the end of one academic year offering that programme, the team can see measurable differences in both teachers’ and students’ levels of Meta cognition.

Views expressed by Haris Madappally, Executive Director, Peevees Public School, Nilambur, Kerala.

The growing trend of cloud computing has revolutionised the way we teach and learn – Ajay Kumar KVSSN

Interviews

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digitalLEARNING Network

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August 3, 2022

Ajay Kumar KVSSN, Chief Operating Officer, Rapyder Cloud Solutions elaborates on the journey of Rapyder and the opportunities that the rise of cloud computing is bringing.

How did Rapyder came into existence? What was the thought behind its formation?

A journey that has crossed its 5th milestone years, started with just a 5-member team. Rapyder came into existence with a simple aim to create a passionate team who believes in creating & delivering value for our customers in a true sense making the cloud work for them.

Our philosophy is how we can create value for our teams and their well-being. We are strong believers that team members are differentiators for the success of the organisation. Our mission is to help businesses leverage the full potential of cloud benefits and newer opportunities around it and make business leadership stress-free for their business continuity. We have created an employee-friendly workplace that will drive excellence, and motivation and create better results.

Rapyder is mainly composed of 3Cs & 3 Ws. 3Cs for – Clarity, Culture, and Competency – and 3Ws for– Customer win, RapyDearWin, and Business Win. Rapyder strives to build high-performing and customer-focused teams yet remain focused on our mission to improve the workplace by allowing employees to thrive while keeping a customer centric attitude.

With high level cloud competencies as its strength, what type of consulting services does Rapyder offer for edtech and educational organisations?

Rapyder’s cloud solutions enrich the virtual classroom experience for edtech businesses through digital transformation ensuring a seamless customer experience with a business scalability meeting growing demands.

We are a strategic cloud partner for many educational institutions & edtech firms, having solved from simple to complex business problems in digital transition viz Cloud Consulting, Migration, DevOps, App Modernization, Data Analytics, and AI/ ML etc. We help stitch a bespoke cloud strategy that most suits the business needs with minimal downtime reducing operating expenses.

Our Cloud engineers are experts in developing cloud-based apps that can handle and analyse data quickly and reliably. Services surrounding AI/ML skills are used to analyse the available data and derive meaningful results. With our managed services edtech firms can get 24/7 support and stay focused on their core services.

Please elaborate on Rapyder’s other service portfolio for edtech customers.

Rapyder’s service portfolio for edtech customers includes SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS offerings. We have our own IP solutions to enhance the edtech communication channels with their users. Our Centre of Excellence has been putting heads together to solve edtech problems with Data Analytics & AI/ML solutions that enhance their teaching and learning process. Our team can help our edtech customers migrate their programmes and apps from their on premises location to the cloud or Cloud to Cloud.

How does Rapyder contribute to the cumulative demand in digital transformations that have seen a boom in recent times?

Rapyder has been working with Start-Ups, SMB’s & Enterprises in the implementation of cloud solutions for improved data protection, pricing, performance, and migration through a digital transformation. We conduct Know Your Architecture workshops, and IT Landscape assessments at regular intervals to make them cognizant of the digital transformation and show the value they derive in time.

Going by the aspirational value of cloud technology, is it a good career prospect for students?

Cloud as a career may be quite lucrative and long span in the industry to those who take an interest in it. Cloud services have grown indispensable in numerous areas, including health care, education, manufacturing, gaming and finance, etc. Cloud provides students with a plethora of opportunities due to its widespread availability, demand, and established public & private cloud solutions. It gives you the opportunity to advance their career by opting from a diverse selection and work as a cloud architect, cloud administrator, or cloud security expert, etc.

With a massive emphasis on digital transformation, the increased need for cloud specialists is being driven by the expanding number of start-ups, as well as existing global corporations. This is an indication for job seekers with a wonderful opportunity to grow their career, in the field of cloud and allied solutions.

There is immense talent in rural India and Rapyder is very keen to create opportunities for tier-2 and tier-3 cities students and make an impact in Indian towns & rural areas to contribute to their careers, bringing them to the speed on par with metros. We have already defined our hiring strategy in tier-2 & 3 cities and are making investments in training. The first batch is already identified and has been trained for 4 months and has started working with our customers.

What are some of the key challenges sustaining the education sector in India? How does Rapyder plan to address the same?

Over the last few years, the Indian education sector has seen a significant transformation due to the advent of new technologies. The growing trend of cloud computing has revolutionised the way we teach and learn. Although modern technologies have shown a significant impact on the education system, only a small percentage of the population benefits while the larger number is still unserved.

Reasons such as lack of digital infrastructure and awareness, security, and high expense perceptions are among the obstacles. Rapyder, as a cloud organisation, aspires to bridge the digital divide and ensure that everyone has equal access to information. We firmly believe that cloud computing has a great role in overcoming challenges faced by the Indian education system and hence provides cost-optimised cloud services enabling edtech companies to undergo much-needed digital transformation.

How do you envisage education five years down the line? What are future projects for Rapyder in the pipeline?

Learning will become far more exciting and rewarding because of creative, immersive, and interactive kinds of teaching. With rising online courses, there is a greater connection between the teacher, student, and parent, making learning more personal, intuitive, and responsive. Future education is collaborative and there is a pressing need to work in tandem with multiple partners converging into a single source to exchange information/content to create a seamless learning experience for users at speed.

a. We are migrating the company (on-premises), focusing on futuristic experiential learning and training consultant and solutions provider for K-12, higher education, and vocational & industrial organisations based in the Middle East.

b. Control tower setup for a Micro learning platform with a library of 5,000+ lessons to help students upskill in key areas like leadership, communication & marketing.

c. DevOps automation for a company that focuses on digital, Interactive Worksheets for your classroom.

A Post Pandemic School

Article

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digitalLEARNING Network

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August 3, 2022

If you think that the pandemic was the only struggle that mankind faced in the past few years, you are in for a surprise.

With the reopening of the schools, many old patterns of work have become redundant and new dimensions in work have emerged. There is a newfound respect for health and work-life balance. Teachers have been recognised as valuable and indispensable resources in schools. They have brought new extensions into teaching and seamlessly embedded technology into their teaching plans.

Coming back to normalcy is easier said than done!

With highly divergent views on the school’s attitudes towards Covid and how to deal with sporadic cases emerging in the school, the staff struggles to keep the ‘wheel rolling on’ and minimise disruptions. The school should consider the two years of struggle as a wake-up call to put in collective efforts in digitalising its function. Should the need arise, school operations should seamlessly be taken to an online platform.

Another dimension that could be used to its optimal potential, but is not, is the ‘Community Connect’ programme in schools. Around any institution lies a pool of other institutions, such as factories, libraries, colleges etc. An endeavour to connect divergent and enriched milieu will ‘power – up’ a school’s ecosystem extensively. When students see live examples and stories of people who have seen trouble, struggle,and yet survived the odds, they believe in it more than any other theoretical lesson in books.

In general, there is inertia in coming back to normalcy. Parents feel stressed in gearing up for school; students also show signs of lethargy and teachers have been complaining about workload. That’s understandable since two years of work from home (WFH) has changed habits! However, everyone agrees that education cannot be imparted in silos; educators have to show an attitude of resilience, adaptability to change, and bravery. As it is, when it comes to our views on using mobiles, e- gadgets, discipline and working styles have undergone a huge transformation. We have found a newfound respect for technology and its young users, who have shown us the way towards digital transformation.

School leaders will take up to be pioneers in leading the change with fortitude. Covid has been a catalyst in digitalisation of education, but we have to be cautious about not falling back to the old order. For this, a comprehensive culture of learning and reflection will be a good idea. Changing the way we look at change will lead to a dynamic and open environment in academic institutions and ultimately will lead to better results. Let’s maintain that attitude for life!

Views expressed by Pooja Bose, Principal, Pacific World School, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

“The learning environment is more charismatic than ever before”

Interviews

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digitalLEARNING Network

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August 3, 2022

Dr Nitin Rane, Vice Chancellor, Avantika University, Ujjain shares with Digital Learning how regardless of the onset of many new programs in multiple fields, engineering education remains one of the most appealing options for students across the country.

What have been the various initiatives taken to encourage ‘Innovation in Education’ at your university?

The MIT group of Pune, with a legacy of 40+ years, is known for its innovative and unique approach to education. We have introduced a unique learning pedagogy of 100% Project-based Learning for engineering, design, and management students, which is a first of its kind. As far as innovation is concerned, much emphasis is laid upon the course curriculum in which the student would learn. We believe in imparting not only contemporary courses but such a curriculum that allows a student to think beyond contemporary. In the entire life cycle of our students, they inculcate such a skill set that makes them a billable resource for the industry.

Some other initiatives include:

The University launched a unique experiential learning module, Avantika Samagati. It is a conglomerate of international events and global travel voyages to create a culture of hand son experiential learning through travel. It is an opportunity to interact and work with academicians and practitioners of global repute.

Our emphasis in tune with experiential learning is more on industry connect, which includes expert sessions, workshops, and industry visits. These activities are conducted every week where the university calls in a diverse range of industry experts to share their knowledge and experience with the students.

How do you see the future of engineering education in the country?

Over the last hundreds of years, engineering has been the crux of our society’s development and progress. Advancement in technologies, engineering systems, and products has been at the heart of growth across multiple sectors. The determined sustainable development goals cannot be achieved without extensive updates in engineering ventures, and in many cases, with new technologies and attitudes.

Regardless of the onset of many new programs in multiple fields, engineering education remains one of the most appealing options for students across the country. Many students continue to enroll in engineering programs as net-zero transition, Industry 4.0, Data Science and technologies present many brilliant career opportunities.

The latest trend illustrates promising job prospects for engineering graduates and postgraduates, with organisations looking forward to hiring fresh talent who can help them fill the revenue or growth gap created by the pandemic.

How do you perceive the role of technology in driving academic change and facilitating outreach to students?

The learning environment is more charismatic than ever before, and as a result, new-age learners are learning in a way that’s very unconventional from how our educational system was initially designed. With the upgradation in technology and the upsurge in remote learning, classrooms are being overhauled and reevaluated in various ways to fit the changing needs of new-age digital learners.

If we talk about academic change, this is how technology is changing the dynamics.

Taking learning beyond the classroom
Recorded lectures making learning hassle-free
Students and teachers connecting in more interactive multi way learning
Technology enabling teachers to deliver personalised learning
Classrooms are becoming more collaborative

We adopted Canvas as the Learning Management Platform to simplify teaching, elevate learning, and increase student engagement. The university is also one of the select few universities of Madhya Pradesh to be certified with E-LEAD Certification by QS I∙GAUGE India.

What are the novel programs that have been undertaken by your institution to grow and diversify, especially post the pandemic?

The University has initiated and undertaken multiple student centric programs over the course of last two years.

The University has collaborated with American, British, and European Universities in the domain of Design and Technology. The objective of these collaborations is to encourage and support cooperation between institutions. It also focuses on faculty and student exchange, joint educational activities, conferences, workshops, as well as virtual engagements.

As an initiative to make technology more integral to the learning environment, the university adopted Canvas as the Learning Management Platform to simplify teaching, elevate learning, and increase student engagement during the pandemic. The initiative continues to benefit students and faculty even after the pandemic.

How do you foresee the National Education Policy (NEP) transforming the higher education landscape in the country?

With preschools in India restarting post-pandemic in 2022, and the opportug projects, so that we can cater to communities in as many locations as possible.

In the context of higher education, NEP has brought monumental changes in governance and institutional reforms aimed at the setup of multi-disciplinary colleges, universities, and groups of higher education institutes. This will be done in tandem with the much-anticipated industrial revolution for skilled job creation and adding to new employment paths. The policy also lays emphasis on the National Research Foundation to fund excellent research and to actively implement research in universities and colleges.

KITE and BSNL collaborate to offer high-speed internet access to Kerala schools

News

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digitalLEARNING Network

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August 2, 2022

The Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE) has announced its partnership with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by the parties in order to provide high schools, higher secondary schools, and vocational higher secondary schools in the southern state with 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) broadband internet connectivity.

The MoU was signed by K Anvar Sadath, CEO, KITE, and C V Vinod, CGM, Kerala Circle, BSNL in the presence of Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty and Principal Secretary A P M Mohammad Hanish on 27th July.

The initiative by the Kerela government aims to provide easy access to a high-speed internet connection for children in state-run schools.

According to an official statement, the effort would see the current 8 Mbps FTTH (Fibre to the Home) connections in schools updated to 100 Mbps, which is 12.5 times faster.

Moreover, the 100 Mbps internet connectivity would benefit 45,000 classrooms in 4,685 schools included in the Hi-Tech school project, with better Information and Communications Technology (ICT) enabled education.

“As part of the Hi-Tech school project in 2018, KITE had deployed laptops, projectors, USB speakers, and networking in these classes,” the report added.

Additionally, the reports stated that BSNL has agreed to upgrade the broadband connection in schools to 100 Mbps without charging any additional fees, keeping in line with the existing pricing of INR 10,000 (plus GST) under which the former 8 Mbps broadband connection was provided.

Besides, each school can now consume up to 3,300 gigabytes (GB) of data each month as per this plan. “This step, which is the first in the country, would indeed strengthen the initiatives of the state towards becoming a knowledge society,” V. Sivankutty, Minister for General Education, said.

Furthermore, the reports stated that all classes currently have offline access to the Samagra Resource Portal and Sahitham Mentoring Portal, but with the addition of a 100 Mbps connection, all such digital/online systems can now be used more efficiently.

Recently, KITE under the General Education Department has won the Chief Minister’s Award for Innovations in Public Policy. The honor includes a citation and a cash award of INR 5 lakh.

15 awards, including 9 national awards, have been given to KITE since 2017. KITE is also working on a number of ICT initiatives, including SchoolWiki, the largest ICT content repository in the nation, in a local language; KOOL, the state’s first official online course; staff fixation software; online teacher transfer and posting; and the State School Arts Festival.

One of the initiatives that won KITE the CM’s award was the First Bell Digital Class. The First Bell classes were introduced to ensure students’ continuity in their education throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

Besides, the KITE Victers education channel broadcast over 18,000 digital classes, making it a leader in ICT-based education.

On 12 October 2020, the Chief Minister declared Kerala the first State in the country to become completely digital in education. The savings of INR 3,000 Cr made by the state by installing free software in over 2 lakh laptops in schools also gained attention stated in the reports.

upGrad continues acquisition spree, now acquires test-prep platform Exampur

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digitalLEARNING Network

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August 2, 2022

Edtech giant upGrad has announced a 100 percent merger of test-prep providers for a government jobs platform— Exampur, for an undisclosed amount.

Co-founded in 2018 by Vivek Kumar and Vardan Gandhi, the Noida-based learning platform Exampur claims to have a user base of over 10 Mn students and offers over 200 test-prep courses for government jobs. It claims, that most of its content is delivered through its 27+ YouTube channels including ones for the UPSC, SSC, defense, banking, teaching, and other state-level government job preparations.

Further, Exampur looks to close INR 70 Cr revenue ($7.5 Mn) this fiscal.

Cumulatively, the company said, it has a growing subscriber base of over 12 Mn with an average viewership of 2.5 Mn students and leads the Hindi-speaking markets across New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar. It said, 90 percent of paid users of Exampur are from Tier-2, 3 and 4 markets.

Additionally, Exampur offers value adds like online test series, free quizzes, and live scholarship tests to help aspirants assess their professional competencies and streamline their learning process. It claims to have one of the largest study material repositories and e-books portfolio for candidates who can access them anytime at their convenience.

Commenting on the development, Vivek and Vardan, Cofounders of Exampur, said, “It’s undeniable that the number of educated candidates in India is growing exponentially yet they are unemployed. It is also being supported by the pandemic-related disruptions, geopolitical situations, and rising inflation that negatively affect the employment elasticity within the country. Hence, we want our learners to walk that extra mile to understand the key to cracking such competitive exams and this is where we have created a hybrid learning model through our digital presence. We are happy to have strong leadership support through upGrad which has already built a business that is set to outlast its peers and shall accelerate our growth in the coming times. We look forward to making Exampur a household name and with upGrad, we see it reaching there really fast.”

upGrad, on the other hand, was founded in 2015 by Ronnie Screwvala, Mayank Kumar, Ravijot Chugh, and Phalgun Kompalli. It offers higher education courses across the world. The edtech unicorn, which entered the coveted unicorn club in August last year, claims to have a user base of 3 Mn in over 100 countries.

Exampur is upGrad’s second acquisition, counting Harappa Education which upGrad acquired last month. Exampur and Harappa both belong to a similar category (another edtech platform). Also, upGrad raised $225 Mn in a fresh funding round from James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems LLC and Educational Testing Service (ETS) in June this year.

And just last month, upGrad acquired B2B ed-tech startup Harappa Education for $38 Mn (INR 300 Cr).

“We’ve created an integrated learning portfolio for our learners and within that matrix, we see test-prep as a high potential growth driver. I realise that it comes with a high customer acquisition cost (CAC), but it also delivers higher returns in terms of outcomes. Therefore, we wanted a partner with the right set of DNA within this space and Exampur seamlessly fits into our LifeLongLearning jigsaw. Both, Vivek, and Vardan come with an extremely defined goal of becoming the enablers than just providing a content library. I’m confident that their day-on-day live delivery capabilities with 200+ teachers through its channel are set to redefine vernacular learning for a larger base of youth across Bharat,” said Gaurav Kumar, President – Corporate Development, upGrad.

IIT Guwahati launches Centre for Biomedical Device and Diagnostics Innovation

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digitalLEARNING Network

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August 2, 2022

To meet the technology demands of rural India with an emphasis on healthcare delivery to the last-mile population, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati has established the ICMR-DHR (Indian Council of Medical Research-Department of Health Research) Center of Excellence (CoE) for Biomedical Device and Diagnostics Innovation and Commercialisation.

The National Education Policy 2020 of the Government of India aligns with this multidisciplinary initiative, which brings together professors, researchers, entrepreneurs, doctors, and students from various departments to promote research and innovation in the field of healthcare innovation.

The initiative has been led by the Departments of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Biosciences and Bioengineering, Electronics and Electrical Engineering, and Design and Mathematics, among others.

According to the experts, the centre will be in charge of the creation of domestic tech-based alternatives, a few pilot-scale digital health kiosks, and the availability of essential diagnostic devices.

Sharing his views on the critical work underway at ICMR Mission Secretariat at IIT Guwahati, Director of IIT Guwahati, Prof. T.G. Sitharam stated, “This Centre is working towards realising the vision of Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Prime Minister, that all IITs be involved in helping the nation in achieving the goals of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ in the domain of healthcare technology development. The centre is envisioned to excel in the frugal innovations related to biomedical devices and develop a unique academia-industry model for product development related to med-tech innovation in the country.”

“The translational innovations proposed in the centre are expected to cater to the societal needs related to diagnostics and healthcare delivery, especially in rural India. The technologies innovated may also spur import substitution to materialise the dream of Make-in-India and Atmanirbhar Bharat,” Sitharam further added.

Commenting on the functioning of this Centre, Prof Dipankar Bandyopadhyay, Head, Jyoti and Bhupat Mehta School of Health Sciences and Technology, IIT Guwahati, said, “Cutting-edge scientific inventions are the foundation of all modern-day technologies, which helps in improving the quality of life of a human being in a significant way. However, the benefits of such inventions are yet to reach the rural population of India. In the next few decades, especially keeping the post-pandemic scenario in perspective, the focus of healthcare innovation would be to develop frugal technologies to cater to the needs of the last mile population.”

The ICMR Mission Secretariat’s primary goals involve finding biomarkers using microfluidic and semiconductor nanobiosensors to detect various non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including chronic kidney disorder, post diabetic complications, liver or pancreatic malfunctions, cardiac illnesses, and urinary tract infections.

Additionally, it aspires to create inexpensive point-of-care diagnostic devices for the collection, storage, security, and analysis of data specifically relevant to rural India.

A further objective is to develop three indigenous products in the domain of healthcare that can be commercially successful in the near future. And to innovate indigenous alternatives to healthcare devices imported from other countries under the Government of India’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative.

Recently, the Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati (IIT-Guwahati) bagged the seventh rank among engineering colleges in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2022.

Telangana transforming the educational landscape

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digitalLEARNING Network

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August 2, 2022

Initiatives and impetus given to developing education in the state of Telangana are driving a noteworthy change.And these initiatives are spanning all classes, subjects, age groups, and streams, encompassing the entire education ecosystem. Garima Pant of Elets News Network(ENN) explores the various measures and their impact on the evolving education system in the state and how the educational institutions maintained academic continuity during the pandemic.

T he last few months have seen heightened activities in the state of Telangana under the education umbrella, with a slew of reforms catalysing a spree of change.Be it the reformative Professor Jayashankar Badi Bata programme that had directed the government and local body schools to increase the enrolment in their respective schools or undergraduates in the state engineering colleges getting an opportunity to study courses in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. These courses will be taught in autonomous government degree colleges in the state along with courses on gaming, creative writing, and animation.Sensing the need to reform the education system from the primary to the higher segment, extensive efforts have been undertaken, and measures have been introduced to create a well – rounded learning landscape.

The state government has been able to successfully understand & amp; identify the pulse of the present system and fill the gaps to accelerate the growth of the education sector to meet the current demands and also have an industry – ready workforce.Identifying the crucial role technology is playing today and in the times to come, the state government has been introducing relevant courses and programmes in the region to give students much – needed exposure.

Funding the basic need

As the country recovers from the massive pandemic blow that pushed every sector backward, including education, the Telangana government allocated Rs 16, 043 crore to the education sector for 2022 – 23, compared to Rs 15, 608 crore the previous year in the budget early this year to accelerate the growth of the segment.A total of Rs 13, 727 crore has been allocated for school education and Rs 2, 357 crore has been allotted for higher education, with a vision and mission to flow in reforms.Noteworthy to mention that to provide quality education to poor students, 1, 000 gurukulam schools were established across the state.Five lakh students were being provided education by spending Rs 6, 000 crore.Also, Mana Vooru Mana Badi programme was taken up with Rs 7, 200 crore to strengthen schools in the state.

Furthering the efforts, Rs 3.5K cr is also allocated for Mana Ooru Mana Badi scheme where schools across the state will undergo a revamp in three phases at a cost of Rs 7, 289 crore.As detailed by an official communication, almost 9, 123 schools under the scheme will be revamped in the first phase.As part of the scheme, the government will focus on development across 12 points — electrification, drinking water supply, furniture, minor repairs to schools, painting, green chalkboards, retaining walls, construction of kitchen sheds, extra classrooms, dining halls in high schools and toilets with water facilities.The budget had also allocated Rs 100 crore for a women’s university that will be established by converting the Koti Women’s College into a university.

According to another latest & noteworthy announcement, Gajwel constituency represented by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao(KCR) will have a massive educational hub with advanced amenities.The Telangana government has sanctioned Rs 126.28 crore for implementing this project.To be executed by the Telangana State Education Welfare Infrastructure Development Corporation, the hub would have classes from Class VI to post – graduation in English medium on a single campus, an official communication stated recently.

Listing more details, the official release said that there will be two separate educational hubs for boys and girls built on 40 acres and 20 acres, respectively.These hubs will accommodate spacious classrooms, dining halls, libraries, and laboratories to the highest standards.Additionally, an auditorium accommodating 1, 200 students will also be constructed and the entire project would have a total built – up area of 4.59 lakh sq ft.The government also plans to build similar educational hubs in some other districts, the release stated.

Effective measures

The measures taken by the state government have yielded positive results across segments.Government schools in the state recorded fresh admissions of 1, 60, 755 children, mostly from private schools, encouraged by the Professor Jayashankar Badi Bata programme and also the up – gradation of infrastructure by the government schools in the region.The rise in numbers can also be attributed to the introduction of English medium education in the schools and the basic amenities being provided by the state government under Mana Ooru Mana Badi programme.Prime Minister Narendra Modi too, had said that the Centre was trying hard to set up a science city in Hyderabad and encourage technology and innovation along with giving priority to education in the mother tongue.If people study technology and science in Telugu, it will create Atma Nirbhar Bharat.

Earlier this year, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao had announced in the Assembly Session that the state government will bear the expenses incurred for the education of over 740 students who have returned from war – torn Ukraine to complete their medical studies in India.State government officials have also been looking to replicate the best practices in the field of education from across the globe.

Maintaining academic continuity

The global pandemic had disrupted the education sector across the globe, making a vast number of institutions to switch to the online mode of learning to maintain academic continuity.Proving to be an opportunity in adversity, the pandemic allowed for the acceleration of digital adoption across sectors including the education sector.

It is notable to mention here that the Department of Intermediate Education of Telangana had initiated a slew of measures at the time of the pandemic without losing any academic year.According to official statistics, 5, 300 Junior Lecturers were trained for 15 days by ICT Training Programme under CSR by Cognizant, Adobe & amp; Nirmaan(an NGO) to prepare Digital Lesson Content preparation and Online teaching methods, tools & amp; Apps, in July 2020. The digitised lesson content and all the classes were telecasted through Doordarshan and T – SAT. 70 % syllabus was tele casted through 3, 181 video lessons in theory & amp; practical during 2020 – 21. Further, 6 new courses started from the academic year 2022 – 23 onwards as per need in the industry and trend.Vocational courses were also introduced at the degree level by the department.

Riding on the progressive measures introduced by the state education department, the education landscape in the state is looking to touch a new horizon of growth in the times to come.

Achievements and initiatives in the department of education since the formation of Telangana

Department of Technical Education administers (54) Government Polytechnics in the State of Telangana, wherein around 12,000 Tenth Class-pass students, mainly hailing from rural backgrounds are imparted Diploma Level Polytechnic Education every year

The Department of Technical Education promotes Technical Education in the state to bring out efficient Engineers and Technicians with profound knowledge, skill, positive work culture, and improved efficiency and productivity

Significant Achievements and Initiatives:

After the formation of Telangana State in 2014, (17) New Buildings worth Rs.127.33 Cr have been completed
After 2014 in T-State, (12) New Government Polytechnics were established out of which (4) of the Institutions are Women’s Polytechnics and one is for ST boys.
E-Office has been established in the Department linking with all offices and Government Polytechnics for online speedy disposal of files and for transparency in the administration.
(1873) Laptops have been procured for SC / ST students in Government Polytechnics for helping them improve their skills and knowledge base.
Aadhar-Based Biometric attendance system (ABAS) has been implemented in all Polytechnics to infuse discipline among staff and students.
Syllabus (Curriculum: C-21) has been revised for Diploma-level students, effective from 2021.
Six months of Industrial Training for Diploma-level students in the Final Year has been introduced to provide them with internship and for skill development and hands-on experience.
Continuous Evaluation Scheme has been introduced for Diploma examinations in order to reduce pressure on students.
Grading System has been introduced in the evaluation of Diploma examinations, as it will minimize misclassification of students on the basis of marks, which will reduce societal pressure and provide the learner with more flexibility.
On-Screen Digital Evaluation System (OSDES) has been implemented in Diploma examinations in State Board of Technical Education & Training, for quick and errorfree evaluation of the answer scripts.
State Board of Technical Education & Training, has been instructed to adopt the Academic Bank of Credit (ABC) System from the academic year 2022-23 onwards.
Skill up-gradation activities in Diploma-level Institutions on a weekly basis to polish technical skills by putting theoretical concepts into practice

Commissionerate of Collegiate Education, Telangana

The Department of Collegiate Education runs 130 Government Degree Colleges (GDCs) in the state, of which 11 are autonomous and 83 are NAAC accredited. Fifteen colleges are also in the pipeline for getting NAAC Accreditation. Seven Model Degree Colleges are being run through the financial assistance of RUSA funding.
As of July 2022, in the Government Degree Colleges, out of 4098 sanctioned lecturer posts, 1243 Regular, 804 Contract and 1940 Guest Faculties are working. Similarly, out of 134 sanctioned, 54 Regular Principals, 21 Physical Directors and 48 Librarians are currently at work. Also, 595 out of 1548 regular and 341 outsourced non-teaching posts are currently in the function.
Academic Reforms of the Department

1) DOST (Degree Online Services of Telangana): For ease and transparency in admissions, online admission was started through DOST in 2016.
2) New curriculum: The Department has introduced a Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS) across all the Universities and Colleges in the state since 2016.
3) Reorganisation of courses: In tune with the Choice Based Credit System, the department has initiated reorganisation of Courses in Government Degree Colleges from the Academic Year 2018-19. Also, reorganization of courses in the Bucket System has been extended to all Degree Colleges in the State from AY 2020-21.
Admissions & Students Strength: The reorganizing of courses has increased admission rate by 68% in government degree colleges over the last three years resulting in gradual strengthening of the Higher Education system.
Virtual Classrooms: To disseminate online education, Virtual Classrooms have been set up in 99 Government Degree Colleges.
Telangana Skills and Knowledge Centre (TSKCs): With an aim to increase the employability factors of GDC, the Department has established TSKCs for imparting the required skills.
Entrepreneurship Development (ED) Cell: To promote an entrepreneurship culture among undergraduate and postgraduate students, the Department aims to establish ED Cells in all Government Degree Colleges.

Administrative/IT Reforms of the Department:

e-Office: The Department has introduced a paperless
e-office system for an efficient governance mechanism
to streamline workflows for both intra-and
intergovernmental processes.

- Biometric attendance: Biometric attendance has been introduced in the HoD. Accordingly, an MoU is signed between the affiliating universities of GDCs and TSTSL.
- College Administration and Information Management System (CAIMS): An automated management system has been put in place which covers various facets like student information system, accounts and audit, and certificate management to capture error free data at one place.
- Qfix: For transparency and convenience in collecting admission and examination related fees, the Department has entered into an MOU with HDFC Bank.
- ISO Certification: As part of quality initiatives of the Department, ISO certification has been done for 96 colleges in 2019-20.
- Initiatives during Lockdown & Unlock period: As directed by UGC and instructed by the state government, the department has taken various initiatives for uninterrupted teaching in those cataclysmic times. Approximately 98 per cent of the teaching staff had conducted online and were easily accessible to the students.

Rashtriya Ucchathar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA)

A centrally sponsored scheme funded by Central and State Government in the ratio of 60:40. Under the 12th Fiveyear plan, a Fund of Rs.174 Crores was approved towards infrastructure development in Universities and Government Degree Colleges. Also between 2018-20, It approved funding of Rs.254 Crores. State Universities like Osmania, JNTU and 58 GDCs have acquired additional infrastructures like new additional classrooms, toilet blocks, e-learning facilities like ICT equipment and virtual classrooms.

A grant of Rs.100.00 Crores was sanctioned for Osmania University under the component called ‘Enhancing Quality and Excellence’. The university has established Nine Centres of Excellence to encourage breakthrough research. Eleven mini centres have also been designed to facilitate research which will help these centres to gradually evolve into Centres of Excellence.
The entrepreneurship hub i.e. OUTBI (Osmania University Technology Business Incubator) was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister in 2019 to hand-hold budding entrepreneurs and Start-Ups aiming to create a research and entrepreneurship ecosystem for the University
Kakatiya University was sanctioned a grant of Rs.50.00 Crores under Component-10 (Research and Innovation) for the establishment of K-Hub.

Commissioner of Collegiate Education

RUSA Telangana is changing the educational landscape

It was Napoleon Bonaparte who said, “An army marches on its stomach”. Similarly, quality education can be provided with state-of-the-art infrastructure. In the modern age, when information technology, the fourth industrial revolution, and cutting-edge research determine education, it is inevitable to provide good infrastructure.
The lack of proper facilities including buildings, labs and toilets has been plaguing the education sector for long. The Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), a scheme under the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India has come as a boon. RUSA State Project Directorate has availed the funding to the optimum and Telangana has the distinction of being one of the few States in India to have utilised the funds effectively. Dr. Soundarya Joseph, Project Officer, RUSA Telangana says, “Several colleges in different districts of Telangana were upgraded, thanks to RUSA.” She further adds, “There has been a shift in the mindset of people resulting in a rise in enrollments.”
There is a direct correlation between quality education and infrastructure. Capacity building is another aspect that helps in ensuring good education. RUSA Telangana has been able to reach out to all corners of the state in upgrading colleges and universities.
All this has been possible due to a strategic plan for developing the model based on equity, access, and excellence. To attain excellence it is paramount that equity and access are given. The Government of Telangana is leaving no stone unturned.

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