Sandesh Nayak: Institutional development our main motto

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December 21, 2020

We directed all our teachers in government colleges to get their lectures recorded and stored in electronic mode says Sandesh Nayak, Commissioner, College Education, Government of Rajasthan in an interview with Kartik Sharma of Elets News Network (ENN).

What new you are planning to restore the educational environment in colleges?

Yes, We took the bitter part of Covid-19 into account and started planning alternative strategies, keeping safety and security of our personnel in mind on one side, and academic assistance to students on the other. Of course, it was a giant task but yet by involving collegiate HR we could execute our idea and started focusing on e-content generation. Besides, we also motivated our faculty and staff to help other people in society and the system. The motto behind this initiative was to keep our HR academically engaged to divert them from the furiousness of Corona as well as to create some worth of their time and inputs. I am happy to mention, it has been a successful journey continuing till this date.

How colleges have helped students’ through new initiatives?

Yes, as mentioned earlier, we were ultimately concerned to help our students, bringing them out of the trauma of the Covid-19 and also to filling up the gaps and fears in their studies. We started creating econtents in all subjects, covering the entire syllabi in all streams. We directed all our teachers in Government Colleges to get their lectures recorded and store in electronic mode. These lectures have been uploaded on different YouTube channels.

Also read: Incremental fees to be utilised for institutional development, not for luxuries: Manish Sisodia

This year the Rajasthan government announced a skill oriented programme in the budget 2020-21 with the name Skill Enhancement and Employable Training (SEET),targeting to train 10 thousand collegiate youth with various employable skills. We have signed MoUs with different agencies and organizations for this purpose like IIIT-Kota for MOOC courses, Rajasthan ILD Skill University, Jaipur; Morarka Foundation and MANSA- an NGO for skill enhancement of collegiate youth. Still a few more agencies/ organizations are under process to get associated with us.

We launched games and sports oriented programme “Arjun Drishti” in previous year and organized very first time district, division and state level activities to our collegiate youth. It involved more than a thousand brilliant students who performed extra-ordinarily.

To help meritorious, regular in studies, needy and poor students to make course-books available in colleges at free of cost by establishing “Community Book Bank ‘’ through a mission programme “Donate a Book ‘’ across the state. More than 50 thousand books have been donated so far and more than 16 thousand students have been benefited by these initiatives.

We are very concerned about the safety and security of our students, especially the girls. We started programme “Girls Empowerment and Mentoring (GEM)” this year. We are training our young and dynamic female faculty members as master trainers and through them we are going to organize workshops for girls in colleges, awaking them about various provisions related to their safety and security. Besides, we have established a Girls Mentoring Cell in each Govt. College here in Rajasthan.

For empowering them through learning by doing and various training, we initiated a special programme for girls “Indira Priyadarshini Swarnim Udan Yojna” in 10 Govt. Girls Colleges. Various programmes and activities were organized there in colleges.

To aware the youth about health, our department just started a programme “Rajasthan Healthier Youth and Moral Education (RHYME)” in January 2020 to strengthen the Nirogi Rajasthan Campaign of the state Government.

Quality education is vital for students, what are the initiatives taken to ensure it?

Yes, we are highly concerned about the quality of education in our state. We are working on a 2 tier strategy. The first one is by imparting training to our faculty both on subject basis and also from administrative points of view. We have started a new state level short term programme “Gyan Ganga” to keep our teachers updated in subject knowledge and research in the same field along with training them by strengthening their classroom delivery. This programme we will carry out in all subjects, and are being organized by our own Govt. Colleges in collaboration with our Commissionerate office. We have organized such programmes in Chemistry, Geography and Home Science so far.

We also started a Faculty Development Programme to impart training to our teachers focusing on “How to create quality e-contents?” We organized seven such programmes in association with GAD-TLC, New Delhi, IIIT- Kota and a few more colleges covering almost 600 faculties from our domain.

Secondly, we are focusing on institutional development. Infrastructural development, developing facilities to students, staff and public, starting students’ welfare oriented programmes are our priority, and we have been working in this direction.

Has the state government taken any initiatives out of box to help students?

To help the youth, preparing for various competitive exams, we have started an online programme “Gyan Sudha- Sachcha Sathi” where we are sharing subject based e-lectures related to competitive exams. I am personally looking into this initiative and putting efforts to pop-up it among youth.

With technology the new tool, what are the new steps government is taking?

We have planning to inculcate qualitative efficiency and develop higher qualitative capacity to strengthen their placement. For that, we are welcoming ‘Private Public partnership’ to make abundant opportunities for our collegiate youth.

We have planned to transform our selective Govt. Colleges into ‘Smart Colleges’. We are working on it and soon will execute it.

Pokhriyal may declare CBSE Exam 2021 dates tomorrow

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December 21, 2020

The long and anxious wait of CBSE students might end tomorrow with the announcement of CBSE Board Exam 2021 Dates. Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ is all set to address live webinar for teachers tomorrow i.e. on 22nd December 2020.

With pandemic still a serious threat to health and safety of students, the challenge of reopening of schools and holding of CBSE Board Exam 2021 for nearly 30 lakh students, has become a major challenge for the board.

Also read: Pokhriyal: India, UK to setup task force for mutual recognition of degrees

To seek ideas, views and opinions of the students on this matter, Union Education Minister is holding a three-way dialogue with students, teachers and parents. As part of this, the minister has held two live interactive sessions and will be interacting with teachers tomorrow i.e. 22nd December 2020. Moreover, recently, Education Minister has also reached out to students inviting their suggestions about on Schedule, Mode and Syllabus for the upcoming CBSE Board 10th and 12th Exam 2021, if the COVID situation persists next year as well.

Earlier, the Board had refuted false news reports which had claimed that the Board was planning to hold the upcoming Class 10 and Class 12 Board Exams in online mode. With delay in reopening of schools and release of CBSE Board Exam 2021 date sheet, several students had started speculating that the exams might be held in online format. However, bunking reports, the Board had said that CBSE 10th and 12th Board Exam 2021 will be held in pen-and-paper mode.

UPSDM-Augmenting Employment Opportunities to Empower Youth

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December 21, 2020

The UPSDM with its initiatives viz arranging training of youth abroad, financial plugging of resources, fostering partnership with leading industrial houses, has set blueprint for skilling says Kunal Silku, Director (Training & Employment), Government of Uttar Pradesh & Mission Director, Uttar Pradesh Skill Development Mission, in an interview with Arpit Gupta of Elets News Network (ENN).

Give us an overview of UPSDM, its objective and vision to make a tangible difference?

The UP Skill Development Mission (UPSDM) has introduced a number of innovative practices. It endorses the famous Burmese proverb that one who walks in another’s track leaves no footprints. The UPSDM with its initiatives viz arranging training of youth abroad, financial plugging of resources, fostering partnership with leading industrial houses, has set blueprint for skilling. It has conceived a Hub and Spoke Model where the skill training centres and ITIs would be the Hubs while the Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools within a defined periphery would be the spokes to provide skill enriched holistic education, right from Secondary level.

The mandate of the UPSDM is to affect agglomeration of skill development programmes and synergise other appropriate structures that are aimed at enhancing employment opportunities for new entrants to the labour force within the target age-group of 14-35 years by arranging employable training courses for them.

What kind of challenges are being faced while deployment/implementation?

It is an appreciated and well admitted preposition that skill and knowledge are the key propellers of financial resilience and economic robustness of any country and India is no exception. India has moved towards becoming a leading contributor to the global economy. However, the country is challenged by severe shortage of skilled workforce as compared to other countries, and the accelerated economic growth has further augmented the demand for skilled workforce. The challenge is further accentuated by the fact that skill ecosystem across multiple sectors and regions and the involvement of various stakeholders.

Also read: Task: Propelling skill development & employment for Telangana’s youth

In the context of Uttar Pradesh the challenges were more compounded due to regional and economic differentials, caste and class stereotypes, uneven spread of industries and meagre employment prospects in private sectors. History and traditions often bind a society to unity but sometimes it bind us in chains also. Cultural stigmas hardly allow the people to welcome any change in their occupations or lifestyles. Skill training being a new leaf distinct from formal stream of education met with its destined resistance in the initial phases and its diffusion was another area which the UPSDM was to encounter before conceiving a strategic intervention in the arena of skilling initiatives.

Tell us about the processes being followed for deployment/implementation.

The State of Uttar Pradesh notified its Skill Development Policy as early as in July, 2013.

Backed with approving policy orientation, it charted its own trajectory and strove hard to realize its objective. It worked on a philosophy that the youth are indeed the variables that should be utilized for exploring new horizons based on the skills of contemporary relevance. The Government reposes its trust on the youth of the State and considers them as active agents of social and economic transformation.

The UPSDM has partnered with leading industrial and corporate houses viz Maruti Udyog Ltd, L&T, Raymonds, Lava Mobiles etc. besides empanelling 400 plus Government institutions and private training providers.

This Public-Private Partnership mode is operating for the last 4 years with many credits. This bond of togetherness has come under cloudy speculations sometimes, but nevertheless, it has worked and is still preferred.

The UPSDM has recently kicked off another strategic module by associating the Sector Skill Councils more intimately and extensively by stressing on customized training in the job roles which the concerned sector skill councils suggest and recommend in view of existing employment options or those likely to be generated in future.

Describe some of the innovative aspects of the project/activity.

UPSDM took a measure of the problem and focused its modus operandi on essential 3S – speed, standard and sustainability to dissolve the plateau in the trends of unemployment and overcome the fatigue in the industrial setup with respect to creating jobs.

The above realization pushed the UPSDM to rope in corporate houses and industrial establishments with flexible MoUs, customized to the requirement of development and sociable obligations.

Another key innovation was to associate dedicated placement agencies and job portals with the Mission. The recent catastrophe cost by spread of COVID-19 pandemic exposed the world to myriad challenges. Apart from impacting upon creation of new jobs, the pandemic aggravated the situation further by layoffs and lay downs that brought many casual workers and daily wage earners on streets. The State of Uttar Pradesh was amongst the worst sufferers as the State received around 28 lakh migrant workers within a period of one month who lost their jobs at their work places and were grappling with the problem of sustenance and earning livelihood to feed their families.

Give a comparative account of the predeployment with post-deployment scenario.

In parlance of economy, the term comparison stratifies the status of actual as noticed in distinct time differentials. Moving with such an exposition, it may be described as the development over the base line due to the interventions and experiments of the UPSDM during its seven years of existence.

The UPSDM has been instrumental in realizing the objective of skilling the youth cohort of the State besides honing the skills of its traditional artisans and enabling them to market their produce at an appreciated price with access to larger segment of consumers. The isolated, sporadic and stray endeavours of various departments to skill the youth often resulted in either siphoning off the funds or duplication of efforts with hardly any perceptible result. When the UP Skill Development Mission was established the State had merely 2% of its youth population as skilled and employable workforce which has now raised to nearly 20% by dedicated application of efforts and incessant endeavours. With the facilitation of vertical pathway, students who wish to join skill training after their completion of vocation course has made the skill training programmes more aspirational and desirable. The bare bones and blow by blow account of statistics clearly shows a striking difference in what the UPSDM was bestowed with at the time of it establishment and what it is able to provide to the youth of State.

Encapsulate the potential for replicability arising from the success of your project/activity

The synergy which the UPSDM affected with other departments to implement the skilling programmes under common presumptions and provisions has paved the way to streamline the skilling endeavours. The decision of the State to provide inter migration opportunities to the students and youth from formal to vocational stream and vice versa is a new experimental paradigm which has found it place in the National Education Policy, 2020.

Karnataka to reopen schools from January 1 for Class 6 onwards

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December 19, 2020

Schools in Karnataka will reopen from January 1, 2021 for classes 6th onwards. Students of class 6th to 9th will have to bring a written consent letter from their parents to attend the classes.

Students from class 10th to 12th will have to attend their regular classes.

“The decision was taken on Saturday after a meeting chaired by chief minister B S Yediyurappa in presence of health minister K Sudhakar. The meeting was held in the background of the detailed report submitted by the technical advisory committee of Karnataka health dept. The committee has given necessary guidelines and necessary suggestions. The committee’s report suggests that the classes for students studying in class 10th and 12th can be started from January 1,” education minister Suresh Kumar said.

Also read: Karnataka CM launches LMS for govt school students

Students having symptoms of Covid-19 need not attend the classes. Attending classes under Vidyagama (Class 6th to 9th) is not compulsory.

“Only half day school will be allowed with a limit of maximum 20 students in every class. The provision for mid-day meal will not be continued but food kits will be supplied to the homes of students,” he added.

UGC: Give full refund to students who withdraw admission

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December 19, 2020

In a major move, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked universities to give full refund of fees to students who have withdrawn admission or migrated by November end. The UGC has also warned universities of punitive action over violation of fee refund norms.

In a letter issued to vice-chancellors, the higher education regulator has also asked institutions to refund the entire fee without deducting more than Rs 1,000, on withdrawal of admissions up to December 31, 2020.

The UGC letter says, “In order to avoid financial hardship being faced by the parents due to lockdown and related factors, full refund of fees be made on account of all cancellation of admissions/ migration of students, up to 30.11.2020, for this very session as a special case.” It further adds: “The entire fees including all charges be refunded in totality (zero cancellation charges) on account of cancellation/ migration up to 30.11.2020.”

Also read: UGC ask deemed to be universities to not use term university

However, for students withdrawing admission after the end of November till December 31, the entire fee collected from a student should be refunded, after deduction of not more than Rs 1,000 as the processing fee. The commission has been receiving complaints about private or self-financing universities allegedly not refunding fees.

The notice says, “The Commission has taken a very serious view of such complaints. Most of these complaints have come from the students who have taken admission in private or self-financing universities and deemed to be universities and later opted out for one or the other reasons.”

Edtech Firm Simplilearn dominates international markets

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December 19, 2020

Indian edtech firm Simplilearn, a leading digital skills training provider announced that since the pandemic started, more than 60 percent of the company’s revenue was contributed by international markets.

In addition to its primary markets of India and the USA, the company witnessed strong demand from South Africa, UK, Saudi Arabia and Australia. With over 70,000 learners learning live at any given time from across more than 150 countries, this year the platform’s active learner base more than doubled the average of 30,000 learners per day at the beginning of the year.

Simplilearn partnered with some of the world’s leading universities like Purdue, Caltech, MIT and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, to offer learners an internationally acclaimed program curriculum, further strengthening its position in the global learning landscape.

Also read: Ed Tech firm Udemy set to raise $100 million in funding

Krishna Kumar, Founder & CEO of Simplilearn, said, “Looking back a couple of years, skilling as a concept was focused more at an organizational level. Fast forwarding to today, upskilling and reskilling has become a global phenomenon with enterprises stepping up spends in L&D programs, especially focused towards digital skilling. At the same time, individual learners are acknowledging the need to upgrade their work profiles in line with industry and employer requirements. “

He further added, “With a large part of the team based in India and a growing global learner base, Simplilearn’s unique blended learning model has been one of the driving factors that has led to the company’s profitable growth over the years. We are happy that Simplilearn is today one of the fastest growing and profitable Indian ed-tech companies serving a global audience.”

Technology cannot replace teachers’ role in class

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December 19, 2020

A teacher leads, guides, facilitates and mentors a student. They are role models who set an example to students and drive them towards a brighter future. A good teacher encourages independent thoughts and independent learning by Pankaj Samantray of Elets News Network.

A modern classroom is defined by technology these days. The Corona pandemic has accelerated the usage of technology in classrooms. There is constant pressure on teachers and administrators to implement technology in classes. Though there are several advantages of making use of technology in teaching, the question remains – can technology replace teachers in Future Classrooms? Well, the answer is clearly no. Though beneficial, technologies can never replace a teacher.

There is no doubt that ICT has become the need of an hour. It changed the basic needs from food, shelter, clothes to food, shelter, clothes and internet. ICT helps the individual in fulfilling all needs. It deals with interpersonal and interpersonal relationships. It also reaches the core areas to remote areas of any country. Right from the city to any village we can see the use of the internet. Many times it is used for entertainment or communication. But we have to think seriously about using the internet in education for enhancing the quality.

Also read: Ed-tech start-up eduTinker launches student- teacher management app

No matter how advanced or smart a computer program or a product is, it can never come close to the knowledge and life experience a teacher brings. Several researches have been conducted and it has been proven time and again that teachers bring about a change which no technology can. A teacher simply does not impart knowledge or information. And teaching is definitely not about facts and figures. A teacher leads, guides, facilitates and mentors a student. They are role models who set an example to students and drive them towards a brighter future. A good teacher encourages independent thoughts and independent learning. He/she can be a positive influence, can be an inspiration to set and achieve goals. The trust and bond between a teacher and student creates the perfect learning environment; which can never be achieved through virtual learning.

In today’s age the old school method of books and notes will not work. Teachers have to stay updated with today’s trends and equip themselves with the latest in technology. They have to implement these technological innovations in their curriculum, without losing their control over the classroom. For example, there are several school apps and smart apps for preschoolers available that make the process of learning and teaching really simple. The future of education is clearly going to be personalized-tech infused learning.

The generation today loves technology. To connect with students and help them understand better, a teacher will have to come out of the comfort zone and explore new ways to engage them. And, technology will certainly play an important role in achieving just that. Technology has immense potential to upgrade today’s educational system. There are several students’ apps and smart apps for preschoolers that help teachers improvise and enrich the overall teaching experience. New educational technologies will not only energize the students, but teachers as well. Which means, even in a technology infused learning environment, the role of the teacher will remain ever-important. Yes, it will become less traditional, but important nonetheless!

So, where do we stand in this debate of teachers versus technology? Well, the answer will have to be the middle ground of the two. While classrooms cannot function without a teacher, the fact remains that in the near future it will be the other way around too. Facilitating learning through technology presents tremendous opportunity for both the student and the teacher to deepen their knowledge and empower themselves. The teacher will have to become a facilitator of parting trustworthy information from electronic sources to the students. Teachers versus technology is an ongoing battle.

Technology plays a supporting role, but it’s the teacher who brings it all together. Technology is certainly changing the way students learn, but it cannot be termed as a replacement for teachers. High-quality teachers create a classroom culture that motivates students and leads them on the path of success. Technology cannot inspire, help them through their struggles, help them fight back and stand up. Yes!

In recent days, online courses offered by numerous top universities and how this has opened doors for students all around the world as now they can study whatever subject in any field they want from their homes.

It was after the introduction of these courses that the debate about this topic got started. Now that the students have access to all the resources at home, what is the need of the physical presence of teachers, right?

Moreover, we see more and more use of computers in the classrooms. We see social media is being used in learning environments, we see children using multiple apps to help them in their studies.

Now, let us talk about some points from the other side of the debate. Although technology is helping a lot in the learning environment, it has not completely taken over the role of a teacher.

Technology is merely an augmentation to a teacher. It can help the process of learning, but it certainly cannot replace the role of the teacher.

Even in online courses, we see that teachers are necessary to give lectures, whether in the form of videos, tutorials or via Skype sessions. Children still need to learn computers, which of course are taught by teachers.

Students need teachers to direct them in learning hands-on skills in science, technology, engineering, art, and mechanics. Moreover, in order to learn critical skills like decision making, time management, etc. a child needs a teacher, as the technology cannot teach these human skills.

It is also important that we remember a teacher is more than just a facilitator of knowledge; a teacher also acts as a guide, a mentor and an inspiration for students, a role that cannot be replaced by technology of any kind.

Teachers can take help of different software to fulfill the needs of diverse learners as per their learning styles. In today’s world no one should neglect the fact of diverse needs of learners. We should try to provide hands-on experiences to them. We are volunteers of the Skill based Society.

ICT has opened thousands of opportunities in front of us. If we travel in Global village ICT is the only vehicle through which we can complete our journey and reach our desired goal. In this way a teacher can take help of ICT to provide quality education to his learner. This can be a challenge for a teacher and learner to accept the change in education. But in reality ICT has shown the role of teachers in a global perspective.

Due to Globalization, Liberalization and Privatization education has widened in every manner. We need to take help of ICT to improve and sustain quality in education. Few NGOs and governments are giving free training of advanced ICT to teachers. Let’s hope that we will be able to bridge the gap between public and private educational institutes by using ICT.

Technology can only be a helping factor to learn, but it cannot replace the knowledge and experience that come with a teacher. And as long as the balance is maintained we can expect an education system that not only promotes learning, but also opens doors to creative freedom and expression.

Upscale Digital Infra to Realise Effective Online Education: Dr. Shuchi Sharma

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December 19, 2020

Dr. Shuchi Sharma, Secretary, Higher and Technical Education, Rajasthan addressed the Summit on ‘Challenges & Opportunities in the Education Sector During COVID-19 Situation’. “No doubt COVID has put up a lot of challenges, however, the pandemic has given opportunities to come up with innovative solutions as well,” she said while opening her address at the summit.

Speaking of various challenges surfaced in Rajasthan in the higher and technical education sector, she said, “There were a few existing challenges like overall admissions have reduced in engineering colleges as less number of students are opting for B.Tech courses and admissions in general, have also reduced. The COVID pandemic has weighed on the existing challenges. Now the situation has turned grave and we are facing issues like how to rate the students, how to conduct exams, etc.” There are guidelines from UGC but the line of action is not clear, she added.

Mode of examination has posed a major challenge ahead of the students and the authorities. Earlier, students were waiting for March for their examination but March opened doors for the unprecedented crisis. Next, a decision to conduct the examinations by September end was taken which added to the existing challenges. Hence, “we raised this with the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) to review the decision”, Shuchi said.

Also read: Dr Shuchi Sharma awarded for ‘Anandam’ programme

“Offline exams were not possible as social distancing norms were likely to be violated if exams were conducted. Also, many students have returned to their hometowns and have to come back to appear for the exams which will open up a new set of challenges altogether,” she added.

Further, she pointed out, “In Rajasthan, the digital infra is not up to the mark for conducting online examinations. And, to an extent, the situation is the same in most parts of India and worse in rural areas.” Fluctuating network speeds, power cuts, inapt digital infrastructure, are some of the hurdles in the way for implementing online education and examinations in the state.

“However, e-content is the solution to overcome such challenges but a need to develop capacity do exist… In Rajasthan, we have started using YouTube as a platform for uploading apt e-content to help students during the COVID-induced lockdowns,” Shuchi mentioned. Adding on she said, “I asked all the teachers/ lecturers to record one lecture on every working day and upload it on YouTube. So, in many colleges, this practice was started… I had emphasised on converting all the written content into e-content so that students can keep up with their studies. The possible issues were that one to one online lecture as not feasible, also siblings sharing the smartphone or laptop was another such issue. Hence, uploading of the e-content was one of the possible solutions we figured out.”

To inform students about the incoming lectures or the time when lectures were being uploaded, WhatsApp groups were formed through which the information was propagated.

Resting her words, she said, “Shortly, as the digital learning setting in as the new normal for the education sector, there is a need to upscale the digital infrastructure. Also, capacity building programmes need to be conducted for upskilling the teachers n terms of delivering lectures effectively through digital media. And, e-content should be kept in focus as it is one of the easily available and accessible forms of content.”

CM Gehlot: Rajasthan Teacher Eligibility Test to be conducted on April 25

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December 19, 2020

Rajasthan Teacher Eligibility Test or REET would now be conducted for April 25, 2021. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced the exam dates for the recruitment of 31000 teaching posts in the state at the occasion marking two years of the Rajasthan Government.

The examination has been pending for over two years now. Usually to be conducted once or twice every year, Rajasthan TET or REET as normally called, was last conducted in 2018. As many as 9.50 lakh candidates had appeared for the examination. The date for the next examination was not announced.

Announcement was made by Chief Minister as he listed out the many accomplishments of the Rajasthan Government over the past two years. Education minister Govind Singh Dotasra had also tweeted two days ago that the announcement of the REET Exam date would be made soon. Tweeting the date of April 25, 2021 a set for REET, he congratulated the youth of the state.

Also read: NCTE extends certificate of teacher eligibility test validity for a lifetime

Dotasra had also shared the intent of shifting the organizing responsibility to the Board of Secondary Education. Details on REET 2021 would be published on the official website of Rajasthan Government.

Recruitment of 31000 teaching posts has been pending in the state for quite a while now. Many candidates had reached out to Education Minister over the past year, seeking clarity regarding the pending examination. More details regarding REET would be announced soon on rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in.

मुख्यमंत्री @ashokgehlot51 ने राज्य सरकार के 2 साल के सफल कार्यकाल पर प्रदेश के लाखों युवाओं को राहत देते हुए 31000 पदों पर रीट परीक्षा 25 अप्रैल 2021 को करने की घोषणा की।सभी युवाओं को बहुत बहुत बधाई। pic.twitter.com/GttnqKqnKu

— Govind Singh Dotasra (@GovindDotasra) December 18, 2020

Ed-tech Revolution

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December 19, 2020

Education as a field has been massively and positively influenced by technology. And this influence will be even greater by 2030. In recent times, technology has influenced how businesses are operating from last few decades by Pankaj Samantray of Elets News Network.

E ducation technology is already part of our lives when it comes to learning, thanks to Coronavirus pandemic. It is difficult to find a part of our lives that technology hasn’t influenced fundamentally. Educational technology is here for facilitating learning and improving academic performance.

The COVID pandemic has accelerated the usage of technology in education sector.

Education as a field has been massively and positively influenced by technology. And this influence will be even greater by 2030. In recent times, technology has influenced how businesses are operating from last few decades.

Also read: Is Indian Education Sector Ready for Industrial Revolution 4.0?

Education is as old as humanity itself. Our ancestors were educated within the family or tribe on how to farm, use tools, make fire, and hunt. Eventually, education became confined within the various priesthoods of ancient civilisations’ until the Greeks established the likes of philosophical mentorship.

In the last 2,000 years, there have been an array of education options, such as tutorship, apprenticeship, and seminary school, up until the 19th century when the concept of K-12 (publicly-supported school grades prior to tertiary education) took hold, existing alongside private, higher education institutions to this day.

Now, with the advent of sophisticated digital technologies, EdTech is empowering educators to expand their reach, while also empowering students to be able to learn independently via educational software.

There are, also, many online libraries that assist teachers and students with comprehensive reading material. Teachers and lecturers are also given the opportunity to post their teaching material online for their students to study.

With the current rate of growth in the technology sector, future educational technology is likely to advance the quality of education or even the ways we teach and learn.

Digital transformation of many educational functions will happen incredibly fast. This transformation can be managed in-house or by outsourcing it to third-party service providers with expertise in specific industries. It’s already a fact that many educational organizations are adopting cloud-based technologies for marketing and recruiting, as the competition for attracting the best students is increasing.

Multi-channel admissions experiences, where prospective students can interact not only by phone and email but also via social networks, video chat, and other similar technologies, will soon be the norm.

Also, alumni relations will quickly be adopting modern communication tools to improve alumni engagement. Finally, as the number of on-campus students possibly decreases, other critical functions such as college counselling, career services, and tech support will all be moving to a primarily digital delivery system.

The future of technology in education is about adapting to the fast-changing world, giving students an opportunity to choose their own way of learning, combining theory and practice, always considering the current demand on the job market.

Educators, Ed Tech entrepreneurs, as well as people actively involved in education, are trying to make realistic scenarios on what is the future of education technology. All this by taking into consideration the investments that are being made into education and the fact that the global expenditure on education is projected to reach $10 trillion by 2030.

Education will be the most important asset for people and their governments in the future. As global population grows, the education market and its complexity are massively growing too. New skills are entering the picture and as automation is prominent in our every-day lives, kids may be trained for jobs that do not exist right now.

In addition, the number of students will be greatly increased with the major driving forces being Africa and Asia, continents that today have a great number of kids who still do not have access to education.

According a survey, there are five major scenarios of how the education technology landscape could evolve:

Education-as-Usual: This is the scenario that represents education as it is today. Institutions are the main source of education and education technology contribution is present but not a major issue.

Regional Rising: Regional cooperation is the act of enhancing relationships through regional rules and institutions in the same state or region. Regional integration has the objective of better cooperation for political and economic purposes. Global Giants: With the internet playing such a prominent role in our lives nowadays, globalization barriers have been removed when it comes to education technology. And this outcome will be even more prominent in the future. Personalized experiences in education will be created and global giants and multinational companies will most likely invest in education and educational technology. Peer-to-Peer: Online learning will be the new norm. The peer-to-peer economy will dominate the way we live, work and learn. Smartphone ownership shapes learning delivery and students will be able to, literally, carry their learning experience in their pockets. Distributed ledger technology underpins the peer to peer economy and supports skills verification.

Robo revolution: The advancement of artificial intelligence technology will impact global economic growth by 2030. AI applications and algorithms will replace humans in repetitive tasks and teaching will be assisted by technology. At the same time, new jobs will be hopefully created in order to create and upgrade AI algorithms. Technology in 2030 will play a critical role in education as well as in technology-assisted learning processes. It will be focused on information processing, decision making as well as learning. It will help students have a more comprehensive learning experience.

Another exciting possibility that EdTech can bring to the table is to bridge the gap between theory and application by developing experiential learning technology – which is often lacking in a traditional classroom curriculum.

The percentage of jobs requiring AI skills has grown four times since 2013, by 2030 all industries will use AI and robotics especially in the field of marketing and sales. Customer service is a big user of AI technology such as chatbots, product selection and customer classification/routing. That means that traditional jobs in these fields, such as customer service, may disappear.

Mobile devices are already a big part of our lives and this connectivity will certainly shape how learning happens in the classroom. By 2030 half the world’s youth will live in countries with a mobile-first internet connection. Face to face learning will probably be the old way of learning and thus new ways of transferring knowledge through mobile devices will be adopted by teachers and institutions.

Also read: India will be the torchbearer of Industrial Revolution 4.0, says Navin Mittal

Learning management systems dominate online environments in every field of education. However, newer technologies with a focus on interaction rather than file management will take over in the future. But, the most important thing is that the learning management system objective is and will stay the same: making sure everyone in the education field is working towards a better future and all this with the help of technology.

When it comes to higher education, EdTech is still lagging. In order to really encourage students to invest their time in online higher education, the rewards need to be there. Hopefully, as distance learning technologies develop further, high-quality education will become increasingly affordable. Ultimately, the goal of EdTech should be to make superior education accessible to people of all backgrounds. If used correctly, it can be a powerful weapon for social equality. It’s encouraging to see that there is such eager investment into the industry, but only time will tell if the industry lives up to its expectations.

Educational technology is not only a simple upgrade into the educational world but a key to better collaboration in education and thus a better future for us and our children.

The world of education is likely to constantly change and develop in a rapid way over the next few years, not just in the application of new technologies but also when it comes to learning. Educational institutions must not only focus on their day to day operations but also figuring out how they will better use technology for enhancing the learning process.

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