The Indian Education sector is at the tipping point and it is important for the education community to develop a unified vision to encourage education sector to look at globalisation not as a challenge but as an opportunity. The mandate at present is to prepare the Indian education sector to meet the challenge of producing large pool of students who are well equipped in various streams of knowledge and well trained to meet the expectations of globalised economy.
To provide new thinking and directions for the burgeoning Indian education sector, a group of government and private education institutes and organizations came together to host the three day conference – EDGE 2008 in New Delhi from March 3-5, 2008. The conference, with the theme of ‘Emerging Directions in Global Education,’ was inaugurated by Union HRD Minister Shri. Arjun Singh, who emphasized on making more investment on higher education and finding out the working solutions for entry and regulation of foreign institutes. Singh said private-public partnership in higher education is a very good idea, but so far private fund has been a constraint. There is a long way to go and the key to India’s aspirations (in higher education) lies in innovative thinking, teachers’ training and technology. Emphasising the role of trained teachers, Singh said, only trained teachers can produce good students. ‘At the same time, unless we improve our education in elementary and secondary level, we cannot improve the higher education system,’ he also stressed.’The government is committed to the cause of reform, equity and quality in education. Vocational training and employability should also be our focus while imparting education,’ the minister added.
The inaugural ceremony also had the presence of Rod Pryde, Regional Director, British Council India and Sri Lanka, Dr Ramdas Pai, Chairman, MEMG International India, Dr Kasturirangan, MP Rajya Sabha & Director-NIAS and Prof V N Rajasekhran Pillai, Vice Chancellor, IGNOU.
On the occasion ‘India Education Vision’ document was released by the HRD Minister. The vision document is the outcome of the deliberations held by members of the vision group and academic programme committee of EDGE conference shared by Dr Kasturirangan.Dr. Kasturirangan, MP, Rajya Sabha & Director, NIAS, said there were tremendous opportunities and challenges for India as the working age population from 15 to 59 years will be increasing only in India . He said there was a compelling need to learn from other countries. It was important to see how international community looks at Indian higher education.
Rod Pryde, Regional Director of British Council, described how India is becoming an important destination for higher education. There was no possibility of becoming a global player in higher education field unless one comes to India, he added.
The 3-day conference saw a plethora of industry experts from across the globe, who deliberated on the key issues like paradigm shift in technologies and its impact on the education, innovative financing solutions for education infrastructure, content development and delivery, and creation and management of human resource.
Some of the key speakers at the conference include: Anand Sudarshan, MD & CEO, Manipal Education; H.E. Sir Richard Stagg, KCMG, CMG, British High Commissioner to India ; Dr. Ramdas M Pai, Chairman, MEMG International India; Sam Pitroda, Chairman, National Knowledge Commission, GOI; Mr. William Nóbrega, Author and Consultant; Dr. Bhalchandra Mungekar, Member, Planning Commission, Government of India; Martin Davidson, CMG, Chief Executive, British Council; Peggy Blumenthal, Executive Vice President, Institute of International Education; T.V. Mohandas Pai, Member of the Board & Director – Human Resource, Infosys Technologies; Geoffrey Clements, India Director, Commonwealth Business Council Academy; Tan Sri Emeritus Professor Gajaraj Dhanarajan, VC & CEO, Wawasan Open University; Kiran Karnik, Former President, National Association of Software and Service Companies; and Prof. Jeremy Williams, Chief Academic Officer, Knowledge Universe, among others.
EDGE released the E&Y Report on Education, alongside the conference proceedings. The report covered an analysis of the current state of India’s higher education and an assessment of the opportunity for it to internationalise through various models. The research further provided insights into higher education best practices in the global landscape, highlighting successes of internationalisation through right policy frameworks and initiatives of institutes and cull out lessons for India.
Besides the conference sessions, workshops on harmonisation and governance of education, and an interactive session with UGC Members, a round table on making India the global education destination were also part of the scheduled activities. The Round Table session, ‘Making India the Global Education Destination,’ brought together eminent personalities, to address some key questions, such as:
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What measures should the higher education sector and the Government of India take to meet the needs of its fast growing economy?
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What are the impediments to growth faced by the higher education sector in India?
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What are the global trends affecting higher education? How different countries have capitalized on them and what are the lessons that can be learnt?
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What global best practices have been adopted and what can India learn from them?
The sponsors representing leading institutions and corporate bodies from across the globe got an opportunity to showcase myriad technologies and services, new tools of education, new methodologies and practices, unique approaches to learning and training, innovative financing models and some path-breaking ideas, through the ‘EduExpo’.
EDGE also felicitated the Padma Awardees of 2008 from the field of Science and Education.
The University Grant Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and Distance Education Council (DEC) are three regulatory and approval agencies that will jointly monitor the process. The joint panel also aims to minimize the usual long drawn out bureaucratic process. While the AICTE will be in charge of the technical institutes and courses, the UGC will handle other universities and the DEC will take care of overall regulation.
One of the biggest challenges faced by many students was difficulty English speaking. His most innovative contribution in the field was teaching English through the use of local languages like Tamil, Telagu and Malyalam. A few years later, Ram expanded to over 200 training centres covering Kolkota, New Delhi and Mumbai and a corporate training centre in Singapore training over 20 lakh students. The other challenge lying ahead of the entrepreneur is tackling the neighbourhood teacher or the unorganised sector.
here would be one school in every block offering classes up to XIIth standard. The proposed schools are expected to change the way education is imparted in the country, particularly in rural areas. The ministries of higher education and finance are working on the norms to bring together private sector’s efficiency and the government’s commitment to society.
The concept of Khulja Sim Sim is a fallout of the concern over the fact that many children in the Capital’s slums still stay away from school. As per the plan, slums will be surveyed and those with a large number of children not enrolled in schools will be identified. These slums will be top priority. In every assembly constituency, one slum will be identified. This would add up to a total of 70 slums.
Are ICT skills the bridge to new opportunities for everyone?
Pamela Passman
Corporate Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs
Microsoft Corporation.
Everywhere, it seems, the power of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is enabling enormous societal changes, increasing personal and business productivity, creating economic opportunities that were once out of reach, and redefining the way people work, communicate, and live their lives. But the good news is not universal. Despite the rapid growth and widespread adoption of information and communications technologies, the disparity between people who are able to benefit from ICT and those who are not is a problem that affects the vast majority of people worldwide.
For example, one key part of our lives remains largely as it was before the dawn of personal computing – the classroom. Education today isn’t that different than 30 years ago. In most classes, rows of students still sit at their desks, listen to the teacher, read from printed text books, and hand in written assignments. Although technology has tremendous potential to transform the learning experience, it has yet to reach many of the people who need it most.
Certainly, this is a serious problem for millions of young people in developing nations, inner cities and remote rural areas who, because of poverty or location, lack access to ICT and skills training. It also affects people whose skills have not kept pace with technological advances, and it affects people with disabilities, age-related impairments, or other difficulties that may interfere with their ability to use technology. In communities around the world, opportunities are being lost and high-wage jobs are going unfilled because people lack either access to ICT or the skills to use it.
We know that technology alone cannot address the challenges of education and workforce development. Instead, it requires strong partnerships with educators, business, communities, NGOs, and governments to identify unmet needs and develop effective, scalable solutions that work in concert with other reforms and advances. To that end, Microsoft is building on a network of partnerships to ensure that relevant, accessible and affordable technology can make a substantial impact on education and skills development for underserved communities throughout the world. These efforts form part of Unlimited Potential, our commitment to bring the benefits of technology – and the economic and social development it can enable – to the 5 billion people who are underserved today by making technology more affordable, relevant and accessible. The company aims to do so by helping to transform education and foster a culture of innovation, and through these means enable better jobs and opportunities.
For Microsoft, promoting digital literacy requires not just resources but resourcefulness. Not just network infrastructure, but economic incentives and not just good software, but good public policy as well. Achieving widespread digital literacy requires that we work in partnership with others. This work is vital; because we understand that at the heart of exclusion are the loss of opportunity, and fewer chances for new beginnings.
For many educators, it has become a challenge to make the learning environment enriching and engaging. The importance of promoting digital literacy and tapping onto the power of ICT is most apparent in the transformation of the learning experience for today’s students, many of whom are digital natives.
For example, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development in the State of Victoria, Australia, recognised, in recent years, that they needed to help teachers bridge the digital generation gap with their students. They did this by providing them with easy online access to interactive, multimedia teaching materials that they could adopt in the classroom. This also gave teachers an online platform to share best practices and resources in conducting lessons that were relevant to their students.
Teaching and Learning
Microsoft’s commitment to education and learning aims to benefit learners of all ages, giving them the skills they need at every stage in their lives. For young people, that means infusing technology in developing fundamental skills such as reading, writing and math. For teachers and educators, it means making sure they have the technology know-how to enrich the learning environment and pass technology skills to their students. For adults, it means supporting IT skills training programmes to improve their ability to compete in the workforce of today’s global economy.
Crescent Girls’ School in Singapore is one such institution which has committed itself to making learning a collaborative experience, based on a learner-centric approach. Their creation and implementation of the Global Learning Faculty (GLF) directly addressed the changing nature of learning as well as the proliferation of new media tools such as blogging, instant messaging, web conferencing and podcasting – tools that students were already using in a non-classroom environment. The GLF enabled students to be the initiators of learning, where they could experience the benefits of a collaborative learning environment.
Not just network infrastructure, but economic incentives and not just good software, but good public policy as well
Through our ‘Partners in Learning’ initiative, we are working in partnership with governments, educators and industry leaders worldwide to offer knowledge and skills to students and teachers in K–12 classrooms and eliminate the gaps in ICT access, implementation and usage. Partners in Learning provides technology skills training to the broad spectrum of people who want to learn from people who are encountering ICT for the first time, to those who want to strengthen or expand their skills.
Workforce Development, Employability and Entrepreneurism
Through the Microsoft Unlimited Potential – Community Technology Skills program, we are partnering with NGOs, IGOs and telecasters to support a wide range of basic digital literacy skills training programs that reach learners of all ages and abilities. This includes non-traditional community learners such as seniors, at-risk youth and people with disabilities, as well as experienced workers who want to update or advance their technology skills or small business owners using technology to realise entrepreneurial success.
Accessibility
For nearly two decades, Microsoft has been a leader in accessible technology, making it easier for people with physical, cognitive, visual and other impairments to enjoy the benefits of computing. Our software also enables other companies to develop technology solutions that empower people with a wide range of mild-to-severe disabilities and age-related impairments to work more easily and productively.
The need for accessible technology is underscored by demographic trends that forecast a shrinking workforce and rapidly aging population in much of the developed world: Japan’s population is aging faster than that of any other country; by 2050 an estimated 60% of the working-age population in the European Union will be over age 60; and by 2020, one-in-five U.S. workers will be older than 55; an increase of more than 50% since 2000. Microsoft
is involved in several ongoing programs and partnerships around the world that provide technology training and assistance for people with a variety of impairments
and disabilities.
At Microsoft, we believe that by providing technology, training and tools to people of all ages and abilities, we can help to create social and economic opportunities that have the power to change lives and transform nations. That is the purpose behind our work on important issues such as workforce development, education and accessible technology – and the reason for our mission as a company – to enable people and businesses throughout the world to realise their full potential.