In a major development, Ed-tech startup WhiteHat Jr said it is ramping up its women-only teacher base in India, adding about 220 teachers a day and plans to have about 20,000 educators on its platform by year end.
The company, which was recently acquired by Byju’s, has over 7,000 teachers on its platform at present.
The ongoing ramp-up is to match the growing base of students across multiple countries including India, the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, a statement said.
WhiteHat Jr founder and CEO Karan Bajaj said, “Digital education and innovation in teaching methodology has brought back the golden age of teaching in the current times of COVID-19. Parents have also warmed up to the idea of online learning and are fully supportive of the new norms of teaching.”
He added that teachers form the backbone of the company’s product and are the driving force behind its vision to make kids the creators of technology, rather than just consumers.
To make the product multilingual and cater to different audiences, WhiteHat Jr maps teachers and students based on the languages they speak, enabling them to switch between languages and making the learning experience more flexible and better suited to the kids’ requirements.
As per the Union Health Ministry’s latest guidelines over COVID-19, staff and examinees from containment zones shall not be permitted to be physically present at exam centres and there will be alternative arrangements for such students.
According to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), such students shall be given an opportunity to take the exam through other means or educational institutions shall arrange their papers at a later date. Also, only asymptomatic staff and students shall be allowed inside the examination hall, the SOPs stated, adding wearing face cover/mask is mandatory.
The SOP stated, the face cover or mask has to be worn at all times inside the examination center by all, it underlined. Authorities concerned should plan out the examination schedule in a staggered manner so as to avoid overcrowding at any examination center on any day.
Examination centers in containment zones shall not be allowed to function, it said. Appropriate arrangements for face covers/masks, hand-sanitiser, soap, sodium hypochlorite solution etc. shall be made available by universities, educational institutions, examination conducting authorities or examination centres to the staff as well as students, it said.
The collection and packing of the answer sheets at every stage will involve sanitization of the hands. The answer sheets will preferably be opened up after 72 hours have elapsed post collection of papers, the guidelines recommended.
After the successful JEE Main exams, Union Education Minister, Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank congratulated all students and thanked the chief ministers of the states. The minister expressed his gratitude towards the entire country on standing with the central government’s decision for conducting NEET, JEE Main exams.
The education minister said, “I am happy that the country stands with the Central Government’s decision for conducting of Joint Entrance Examination Main, JEE Main, National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, NEET examinations.
He added, “I’d like to congratulate the students for having turned up to take #JEE. All the SOPs are being followed to the letter. I’m thankful to the CMs of the states who have facilitated the conveyance of students to their respective exam centres.”
Earlier, the Education Minister shared a message for the students via a video. Wishing the students best of luck for the examination, Education Minister shared that he was happy that over 7, 77 465 students had downloaded the JEE Main 2020 admit cards. He also shared that all the facilities would be provided to the students.
NTA has started JEE Main 2020 exam on September 1, 2020. Around 8.67 lakh students have registered for the exam, but Day 1 saw a great dip in the number of aspirants appearing for the exams. Despite maintaining all safety protocols, many aspirants skipped appearing for the exam across the country amid the COVID19 threat.
In last few months, India’s education system has changed its shape and size with COVID-19 pandemic. India is moving towards a knowledge-driven economy, its strength depends upon the capabilities of its citizens. The usage of technology will help in creating an environment for learner-centric education and highlight creative thinking. To revolutionize education the integration of technology in teaching has become the need of the hour.
Elets digitalLEARNING magazine organized virtual “Higher and Technical Education Summit, Tamil Nadu” on August 28, 2020. The full-day summit highlighted the usage of technology in the Higher Education sector.
In the inaugural session Dr Ravi Gupta, CEO & Editor-in-Chief, Elets Technomedia welcomed the eminent speakers.
In the inaugural session, speaking over the Dr. M. S. Shyamasundar, Advisor, National Assessment & Accreditation Council (NAAC) said “All the HEIs have gone for online teaching due to COVID-19 crisis. The National Education Policy also advocates usage of technology in Higher Education. It will also help to make India self-reliant. The policy will bring revolutionary structural changes in Indian education system and change the sector to holistic, flexible and it is student-centric”.
Dr Shyamasundar also said, “The academic bank account for students is one of the best things in policy. The credits can be deposited in the digilocker. Now students can do one-year PG, which is one of the best things. Now the govt is focusing on multi-disciplinary subjects and can pursue his passion with studies. The objective of the NEP is to inculcate skills within students. “
Elaborating the NEP, he said “Cooperation of all state govts is necessary to implement the much-needed policy across the country. Now autonomous colleges can award degrees. The govt wants to surge the GER to 50 pc across the country. “
Over foreign Universities, he said “With NEP, the govt is trying to attract foreign universities to India. The objective is to provide international exposure to our students.”
He also said challenges are different in education and by March 2021 many things will be taken care of. The NEP will help India to become “Vishwa Guru”. Everything cannot be implemented overnight, it will take some time to get going.
In the second session, the discussion emphasized on “Decoding Future of Technology in NEP 2020 – Approaches, Opportunities & Challenges.”
Over National Education Policy, Dr Ashwin Fernandes, CEO, QS I∙GAUGE said “The NEP will revolutionize the education sector. In unprecedented times, technology has act as saviour. The introduction of NEP has been good in this crisis. It has broken language barrier within in students. Technology can be an effective tool in schools education also. The technology will change the dynamics of higher education.”
Dr Ashwin also said, “The HEIs must be looking to build new things for future disruptions. In rural India only 2.3 pc houses have computers and urban has 23 pc. A lot of ground work to be done to implement the NEP 2020. The digital divide is a huge challenge, which the govt has to work upon in coming days.”
“In our survey 50 pc students in the country have poor connectivity. The important questions are how we can achieve 6 pc GDP and how foreign universities can fit in India? In coming days to achieve some goals, we need more investments in the sector”, he added.
“Technology can help in managing many things in universities, from admissions to internships. The new innovations have got things beyond the classroom,” he added.
Over future jobs, he said “Many jobs will be extinct in coming days and we must prepare our students for it. We must start teaching life skills to students and prepare them for any kind of situation.”
Over National Education Policy, Meeta W Sengupta, Education Strategy, Policy and Research said “The vision perception gap has to be bridged to welcome foreign universities to India. There will be foreign investments in Ed-tech firms as India is a huge market. Education sector will suffer the most in the crisis.”
She also said “Assessments and operational issue got first priorities in global universities. Things will not the same when foreign universities enter the Indian market. It will create tough competition within the varsities, which can enhance the quality of education in the country.
The Ed-tech firms must have some purpose, they can reduce the cost, and inculcate skills within students, she said.
“COVID came as a catalyst and exposed all the issues in our sector. Technology supportive in HEIs, focus on Higher value added. Technology can provide affordable, reasonable, and easy education across the country”, she added.
Over NEP 2020, Hemant Sahal, Founder & CEO, Collpoll said “If the GER has go up to 50 pc, we need more institutions. With foreign universities entering the market, the competition will surge. Technology will play a very large role in education sector. Now institutions will have to leverage technology for future growth.”
Over Ed-tech firms, he said “Now institutions are looking at technology as long term solutions. The ed-tech firms are growing largely in the education sector. Institutions have to rewire themselves to grow in coming days. Technology has act as a great leveller and can lower the cost of training”.
“Institutions must think to incorporate people who can understand technology. Investing on people and empowering them is also important. Institutions must have long term implementation goals. Upskilling and reskillng must be focused,” he added.
He also said institutions must create students portfolio for future. Institutions must focus on good team, long run roadmap, and technology has to be humanly, he added.
In the third session, the discussion emphasized on “Lessons from Leaders – Best practices in ensuring Seamless education amid Covid-19.”
Chocko Valliappa – VC, Sona Group of Institutions, said “The COVID-19 crisis is a blessing for digital education in the country. It has accelerated the usage of technology in education. In digital class, everyone is sitting on front row. We have adopted online classes way back. We have used technology to hold assessments in our university.”
Dr Anand A Samuel, Vice Chancellor, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore said “The pandemic has disrupted our path. We didn’t face any issue as we have our digital infra placed two years back. We have completed all our portions on time. Not only completed our portion, have also conducted our assessments in this pandemic. The pandemic has created digital revolution in the country.”
Over conducting online classes, he said “Online mode has very less retaining capacity. Online mode classes must not be more than 30 mins. Knowledge and compression must be there for online classes. Institutions must adapt flip classroom technology to sustain.”
The digital mode has created huge flexibility in education sector. In coming days, many more innovations can change the scenario of the sector, he added.
Prof. S. Salivahanan, Vice Chancellor, Vel Tech Rangarajan Dr.Sagunthala R&D Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai said “The face to face teaching is being avoided due to COVID crisis. With technology, faculty members can use pre-recorded lectures for students. In online classes, communication skills of students can get affected.”
Raising concerns over digital infra, he said “Over 70 pc student are deprived of gadgets which is a concern. We need to bridge the digital gap across the country.”
Over teachers, he said “Technology cannot replace any teacher and it can only assist them. Face to face learning cannot be replaced at anytime. Training teachers will be a humongous task for the govt to implement the policy effectively.”
Life skills are more important than degrees and its universities job to prepare students for employability, he stressed. Conducting assessment in this pandemic will be a huge challenge for many, he added.
Prof. Dr. P. Kaliraj, Vice Chancellor, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore said “The COVID-19 has created a platform, for survival of the fittest. No technology can replace the physical classes. The Universities must prepare students for future jobs. We need to educate our teachers to adopt the online classes. We must provide e-content to every student.”
He also said “The roadmap was created to prepare students as the job situation is going to be changed after pandemic. We have changed our curriculum to implement new things. We must be preparing our teachers for future. Globalization of education will be the new theme in coming days, he added.
Over the role of varsities, he said University must adopt villages to train students. We must empower villages with education and provide them support in this crisis.
Dr. T. Sasipraba, Vice Chancellor, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai said “The COVID has compelled us to make changes in every sector. The assessment is a huge issue especially in online mode. Technology has helped us to conduct the classes in this pandemic. We have to adopt blended learning in coming days. The COVID has made us to go from real to virtual mode.”
She also said Institutions must prepare students industry ready and for future jobs. The institutions must bring beyond the conventional courses and think of something new.
The pandemic has made importance of blended learning and adapt will be the new word for many, she added.
She even asked to make online lectures bit interesting and prepare students and teachers for online behavior as its very important.
In the post lunch session, the discussion was focused on “Tackling the Innovation in Admission, Enrolment, Assessment & Accreditation”
Dr Shasi Anand Sridharan, Vice President, Kalasalingam University, Krishnankoil said “There is an uncertainty seen across the country. The start of new batches will get delayed due to pandemic. We are still waiting guidelines from Centre, how to engage students in online classes. The feeling of moving into Higher Education is also important. Now, students need to learn new things.”
Dr Sridharan also said “Regular assessment is the key. The classroom atmosphere is completely changed in online classes. Faculty training is also very important as they are very new to the mode. We must be ready to embrace any situation.
Dr K.Manivannan, CEO, Mohamed Sathak Group of Institutions, Ramanathapuram said “There are lots of issues within the Higher Education in this pandemic. The faculty members learnt new technologies to carry out classes. Faculty members are finding it difficult in conducting the assessments. Now, many universities have started virtual labs for students. “
Over connectivity, he said “The connectivity is a huge issue for as over 50 pc students come from rural areas. We need to bridge the gap between the rural and urban students. ‘Education for all’ must be our motto in this pandemic .”
“The learning things are changing and change is always constant. Institutions must develop mentorship within students”, he added.
Dr. Narasimha Sarma N V S, Director, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Tiruchirappalli said “The COVID has accelerated our lives. With technology, everything is conducted online and parents and students must change their mind-sets and accept it. Majority of people must decide the policies of the country. “
He also said exams must be conducted as no one should suffer due to some people. Assessments are an integral part of the education system, he added.
“Teachers need to change their mind-set over exams and online classes. Exams can be conducted with the help of technology. We must try to pull out the real content during the assessment, what the student has understood”, he added.
Dr Vaidehi Vijayakumar, Vice Chancellor, Mother Teresa Women’s University, Kodaikanal said “Now students are trying to choose colleges near their homes. To negate it, universities must start online classes. With technology taking centre stage, we are inviting world class educators to provide their services.”
Over online classes, she said “We must prepared e-lectures, which can help many in longer run. We must try to conduct open book exams in this pandemic. Technology can be used to support students in many ways.
Dr. N Ramesh Babu, Principal, M Kumarasamy College of Engineering, Karur said “There are lot of ambiguity among the students during the pandemic. The core engineering courses may take hit in coming days. Learning will be there but the mode will change. The digital media will play an important role in admissions.”
He also advised the domestic universities to scale up the standards to retain students from going aboard for studies. He also said, colleges must prepare students for jobs which don’t exists.
In the last session, Roadmap for Building Progressive, Innovative & Skilled Future of Students was discussed.
Dr. R.M. Suresh, Pro Vice Chancellor (Academics), Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai said “Teacher is a peer, friend, motivator and plays many roles in a students’ life. Teacher cannot be replaced with any technology. If a teacher enhances himself as a winner, then he can change the society.”
He also advocates preparing counselling cell for students during this pandemic. Things can change drastically, teachers must prepare students to tackle any kind of situations, he added.
Dr. S. Padmavathi, Principal, Shri Shankarlal Sundarbai Shasun Jain College for Women, Chennai, said “We must focus on holistic method of learning. We must focus on unlearn students over some issues, liberalize them to choose subjects, change the learning methodologies, bring in blended learning technologies, value addition and provide skill development. The role of teacher is very important in developing a student. If teachers start learning, then we can create a good nation”.
Teachers will play an important role in redefining education in the country. With good teachers, things can change a lot in coming days, she added.
Prof. (Dr.) Kuncheria P. Isaac, Vice Chancellor, Hindustan Institute of Technology & Science (Deemed to be University) Chennai, said “The NEP is the roadmap for grooming good citizens for our country. We have been listening knowledge is the power and ethics has to be in the education sector. We need to inculcate values within the students. We must focus on building person with creativity and communication skills.”
He also said “We need to recoginse a good leader and train students for future.AI is also very important and will play crucial role in coming days.”
Learning is a continuous process and we have to change our mindset. The technology is changing and will provide lifelong learning to students, he added.
Dr. K. Maran, Director, Sairam Institute of Management Studies, Sai Ram Engineering College, Chennai said “Without education nothing is possible. We need to empower every individual. Without knowledge and skills nothing can be done. We need to change our curriculum as without it we cannot provide international standards to students. We must prepare our students in many dimensions and enhance skills. We must prepare them for industry ready as its needs are changing.”
“Student attitude and presence of mind is very important. Now it’s about 360 degree student, focus more on social aspects, teaching is a powerful tools, the statics has to be changed”, he added.
Dr. V. Venkatachalam, Principal, Erode Sengunthar Engineering College, Erode said “The changing needs of the industry must be addressed by the institutions. The National Education Policy is focusing on vocational training. We need to bring change in our curriculum and bridge the gap between institutes and industry. We must ask our faculty members to change their mind set. We must bring in new innovations in our curriculum.”
Institutions must include Data Science and AI in their courses. Teachers have to be updated and trained on regular basis, so that they can prepare students for the future, he added.
In last few months, India’s education system has changed its shape and size with the COVID-19 pandemic. India is moving towards a knowledge-driven economy, its strength depends upon the capabilities of its citizens. The usage of technology will help in creating an environment for learner-centric education and highlight creative thinking. To revolutionize education the integration of technology in teaching has become the need of the hour.
Elets digitalLEARNING magazine organized virtual “Higher and Technical Education Summit, Tamil Nadu” on August 28, 2020. The full-day summit highlighted the usage of technology in the Higher Education sector and role of NEP, 2020.
In the inaugural session Dr Ravi Gupta, CEO & Editor-in-Chief, Elets Technomedia welcomed the eminent speakers.
In the inaugural session, speaking over the Dr. M. S. Shyamasundar, Advisor, National Assessment & Accreditation Council (NAAC) said “All the HEIs have gone for online teaching due to COVID-19 crisis. The National Education Policy also advocates usage of technology in Higher Education. It will also help to make India self-reliant. The policy will bring revolutionary structural changes in Indian education system and change the sector to holistic, flexible and it is student-centric”.
Dr Shyamasundar also said, “The academic bank account for students is one of the best things in policy. The credits can be deposited in the digilocker. Now students can do one-year PG, which is one of the best things. Now the govt is focusing on multi-disciplinary subjects and can pursue his passion with studies. The objective of the NEP is to inculcate skills within students. “
Elaborating the NEP, he said “Cooperation of all state govts is necessary to implement the much-needed policy across the country. Now autonomous colleges can award degrees. The govt wants to surge the GER to 50 pc across the country. “
Over foreign Universities, he said “With NEP, the govt is trying to attract foreign universities to India. The objective is to provide international exposure to our students.”
He also said challenges are different in education and by March 2021 many things will be taken care of. The NEP will help India to become “Vishwa Guru”. Everything cannot be implemented overnight, it will take some time to get going.
In the second session, the discussion emphasized on “Decoding Future of Technology in NEP 2020 – Approaches, Opportunities & Challenges.”
Over National Education Policy, Dr Ashwin Fernandes, CEO, QS I∙GAUGE said “The NEP will revolutionize the education sector. In unprecedented times, technology has act as saviour. The introduction of NEP has been good in this crisis. It has broken language barrier within in students. Technology can be an effective tool in schools education also. The technology will change the dynamics of higher education.”
Dr Ashwin also said, “The HEIs must be looking to build new things for future disruptions. In rural India only 2.3 pc houses have computers and urban has 23 pc. A lot of ground work to be done to implement the NEP 2020. The digital divide is a huge challenge, which the govt has to work upon in coming days.”
“In our survey 50 pc students in the country have poor connectivity. The important questions are how we can achieve 6 pc GDP and how foreign universities can fit in India? In coming days to achieve some goals, we need more investments in the sector”, he added.
“Technology can help in managing many things in universities, from admissions to internships. The new innovations have got things beyond the classroom,” he added.
Over future jobs, he said “Many jobs will be extinct in coming days and we must prepare our students for it. We must start teaching life skills to students and prepare them for any kind of situation.”
Over National Education Policy, Meeta W Sengupta, Education Strategy, Policy and Research said “The vision perception gap has to be bridged to welcome foreign universities to India. There will be foreign investments in Ed-tech firms as India is a huge market. Education sector will suffer the most in the crisis.”
She also said “Assessments and operational issue got first priorities in global universities. Things will not the same when foreign universities enter the Indian market. It will create tough competition within the varsities, which can enhance the quality of education in the country.
The Ed-tech firms must have some purpose, they can reduce the cost, and inculcate skills within students, she said.
“COVID came as a catalyst and exposed all the issues in our sector. Technology supportive in HEIs, focus on Higher value added. Technology can provide affordable, reasonable, and easy education across the country”, she added.
Over NEP 2020, Hemant Sahal, Founder & CEO, Collpoll said “If the GER has go up to 50 pc, we need more institutions. With foreign universities entering the market, the competition will surge. Technology will play a very large role in education sector. Now institutions will have to leverage technology for future growth.”
Over Ed-tech firms, he said “Now institutions are looking at technology as long term solutions. The ed-tech firms are growing largely in the education sector. Institutions have to rewire themselves to grow in coming days. Technology has act as a great leveller and can lower the cost of training”.
“Institutions must think to incorporate people who can understand technology. Investing on people and empowering them is also important. Institutions must have long term implementation goals. Upskilling and reskillng must be focused,” he added.
He also said institutions must create students portfolio for future. Institutions must focus on good team, long run roadmap, and technology has to be humanly, he added.
In the third session, the discussion emphasized on “Lessons from Leaders – Best practices in ensuring Seamless education amid Covid-19.”
Chocko Valliappa – VC, Sona Group of Institutions, said “The COVID-19 crisis is a blessing for digital education in the country. It has accelerated the usage of technology in education. In digital class, everyone is sitting on front row. We have adopted online classes way back. We have used technology to hold assessments in our university.”
Dr Anand A Samuel, Vice Chancellor, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore said “The pandemic has disrupted our path. We didn’t face any issue as we have our digital infra placed two years back. We have completed all our portions on time. Not only completed our portion, have also conducted our assessments in this pandemic. The pandemic has created digital revolution in the country.”
Over conducting online classes, he said “Online mode has very less retaining capacity. Online mode classes must not be more than 30 mins. Knowledge and compression must be there for online classes. Institutions must adapt flip classroom technology to sustain.”
The digital mode has created huge flexibility in education sector. In coming days, many more innovations can change the scenario of the sector, he added.
Prof. S. Salivahanan, Vice Chancellor, Vel Tech Rangarajan Dr.Sagunthala R&D Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai said “The face to face teaching is being avoided due to COVID crisis. With technology, faculty members can use pre-recorded lectures for students. In online classes, communication skills of students can get affected.”
Raising concerns over digital infra, he said “Over 70 pc student are deprived of gadgets which is a concern. We need to bridge the digital gap across the country.”
Over teachers, he said “Technology cannot replace any teacher and it can only assist them. Face to face learning cannot be replaced at anytime. Training teachers will be a humongous task for the govt to implement the policy effectively.”
Life skills are more important than degrees and its universities job to prepare students for employability, he stressed. Conducting assessment in this pandemic will be a huge challenge for many, he added.
Prof. Dr. P. Kaliraj, Vice Chancellor, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore said “The COVID-19 has created a platform, for survival of the fittest. No technology can replace the physical classes. The Universities must prepare students for future jobs. We need to educate our teachers to adopt the online classes. We must provide e-content to every student.”
He also said “The roadmap was created to prepare students as the job situation is going to be changed after pandemic. We have changed our curriculum to implement new things. We must be preparing our teachers for future. Globalization of education will be the new theme in coming days, he added.
Over the role of varsities, he said University must adopt villages to train students. We must empower villages with education and provide them support in this crisis.
Dr. T. Sasipraba, Vice Chancellor, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai said “The COVID has compelled us to make changes in every sector. The assessment is a huge issue especially in online mode. Technology has helped us to conduct the classes in this pandemic. We have to adopt blended learning in coming days. The COVID has made us to go from real to virtual mode.”
She also said Institutions must prepare students industry ready and for future jobs. The institutions must bring beyond the conventional courses and think of something new.
The pandemic has made importance of blended learning and adapt will be the new word for many, she added.
She even asked to make online lectures bit interesting and prepare students and teachers for online behavior as its very important.
In the post-lunch session, the discussion was focused on “Tackling the Innovation in Admission, Enrolment, Assessment & Accreditation”
Dr Shasi Anand Sridharan, Vice President, Kalasalingam University, Krishnankoil said “There is an uncertainty seen across the country. The start of new batches will get delayed due to pandemic. We are still waiting guidelines from Centre, how to engage students in online classes. The feeling of moving into Higher Education is also important. Now, students need to learn new things.”
Dr Sridharan also said “Regular assessment is the key. The classroom atmosphere is completely changed in online classes. Faculty training is also very important as they are very new to the mode. We must be ready to embrace any situation.
Dr K.Manivannan, CEO, Mohamed Sathak Group of Institutions, Ramanathapuram said “There are lots of issues within the Higher Education in this pandemic. The faculty members learnt new technologies to carry out classes. Faculty members are finding it difficult in conducting the assessments. Now, many universities have started virtual labs for students. “
Over connectivity, he said “The connectivity is a huge issue for as over 50 pc students come from rural areas. We need to bridge the gap between rural and urban students. ‘Education for all’ must be our motto in this pandemic .”
“The learning things are changing and change is always constant. Institutions must develop mentorship within students”, he added.
Dr. Narasimha Sarma N V S, Director, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Tiruchirappalli said “The COVID has accelerated our lives. With technology, everything is conducted online and parents and students must change their mind-sets and accept it. The majority of people must decide the policies of the country. “
He also said exams must be conducted as no one should suffer due to some people. Assessments are an integral part of the education system, he added.
“Teachers need to change their mind-set over exams and online classes. Exams can be conducted with the help of technology. We must try to pull out the real content during the assessment, what the student has understood”, he added.
Dr Vaidehi Vijayakumar, Vice Chancellor, Mother Teresa Women’s University, Kodaikanal said “Now students are trying to choose colleges near their homes. To negate it, universities must start online classes. With technology taking centre stage, we are inviting world-class educators to provide their services.”
Over online classes, she said “We must prepare e-lectures, which can help many in longer run. We must try to conduct open book exams in this pandemic. Technology can be used to support students in many ways.
Dr. N Ramesh Babu, Principal, M Kumarasamy College of Engineering, Karur said “There are lot of ambiguity among the students during the pandemic. The core engineering courses may take hit in the coming days. Learning will be there but the mode will change. The digital media will play an important role in admissions.”
He also advised the domestic universities to scale up the standards to retain students from going aboard for studies. He also said, colleges must prepare students for jobs which don’t exists.
In the last session, Roadmap for Building Progressive, Innovative & Skilled Future of Students was discussed.
Dr. R.M. Suresh, Pro Vice Chancellor (Academics), Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai said “Teacher is a peer, friend, motivator and plays many roles in a students’ life. Teacher cannot be replaced with any technology. If a teacher enhances himself as a winner, then he can change the society.”
He also advocates preparing counselling cell for students during this pandemic. Things can change drastically, teachers must prepare students to tackle any kind of situation, he added.
Dr. S. Padmavathi, Principal, Shri Shankarlal Sundarbai Shasun Jain College for Women, Chennai, said “We must focus on a holistic method of learning. We must focus to unlearn students over some issues, liberalize them to choose subjects, change the learning methodologies, bring in blended learning technologies, value addition and provide skill development. The role of teacher is very important in developing a student. If teachers start learning, then we can create a good nation”.
Teachers will play an important role in redefining education in the country. With good teachers, things can change a lot in coming days, she added.
Prof. (Dr.) Kuncheria P. Isaac, Vice Chancellor, Hindustan Institute of Technology & Science (Deemed to be University) Chennai, said “The NEP is the roadmap for grooming good citizens for our country. We have been listening knowledge is the power and ethics has to be in the education sector. We need to inculcate values within the students. We must focus on building person with creativity and communication skills.”
He also said “We need to recoginse a good leader and train students for future.AI is also very important and will play a crucial role in coming days.”
Learning is a continuous process and we have to change our mindset. The technology is changing and will provide lifelong learning to students, he added.
Dr. K. Maran, Director, Sairam Institute of Management Studies, Sai Ram Engineering College, Chennai said “Without education nothing is possible. We need to empower every individual. Without knowledge and skills nothing can be done. We need to change our curriculum as without it we cannot provide international standards to students. We must prepare our students in many dimensions and enhance skills. We must prepare them for industry ready as its needs are changing.”
“Student attitude and presence of mind is very important. Now it’s about 360 degree student, focus more on social aspects, teaching is a powerful tools, the statics has to be changed”, he added.
Dr. V. Venkatachalam, Principal, Erode Sengunthar Engineering College, Erode said “The changing needs of the industry must be addressed by the institutions. The National Education Policy is focusing on vocational training. We need to bring change in our curriculum and bridge the gap between institutes and industry. We must ask our faculty members to change their mind set. We must bring in new innovations in our curriculum.”
Institutions must include Data Science and AI in their courses. Teachers have to be updated and trained on regular basis, so that they can prepare students for the future, he added.
Providing relief to students, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has directed all affiliated institutes to refund complete fees to the students who decide to withdraw their admission on or before 10th November 2020.
The official notification reads “In the event of a student withdrawing before November 10, 2020, the entire fee collected from the student, after a deduction of the processing fee of not more than Rs 1,000 shall be refunded by the institution.”
Apart from the refund of the complete fees collected from the students, the institutes have also been directed to return the original documents collected from students at the time of admission. If the seat, vacated after November 10, is not filled by another student till November 15, security deposit and original documents must be returned, the official statement issued by AICATE read.
Taking into account the prevailing situation with regards to COVID-19 pandemic, the AICTE has also relaxed the admission guidelines to MBA and PDGM programmes offered by the affiliated institutes. According to the council, admission to MBA and PDGM courses can be offered by the institutes on the basis of qualifying examination. Institutes should also ensure that candidates or applicants having a valid exam score should be given preference in the admission procedure over the ones that are being admitted on the basis of qualifying merit.
As a part of Teacher’s Day celebrations, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has released a notification asking the Vice-Chancellors of all the universities and colleges to conduct webinars with regard to the National Education Policy 2020. The Education Ministry has stated that the webinar will be helpful in generating awareness on NEP among the teachers and other stakeholders.
The National Education Policy 2020 has made way for a transformational reform in School and Higher Education. The UGC has thus asked the universities to highlight the role of teachers this year in the celebrations across the university and colleges.
The University Grants Commission has also asked the universities to conduct the programme following the guidelines issued by the government. The programmes can also be conducted through video conferencing wherein the retired teachers can also be honoured.
The UGC has recently asked the universities across the country to begin the provisional admission process for the undergraduate and postgraduate programme for the 2020-21 academic year. The admission process for the Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses was conducted on August 31, 2020, and the commission has asked the colleges to complete the provisional allotment until September 30, 2020.
In a major development, the Odisha High Court asked the state government to take the initiative and mediate between parents associations and private school authorities in resolving the ongoing row over school fee hike.
The suggestion was given by a division bench headed by Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq while adjudicating over a batch of related PILs.
The high court asked the principal secretary of School and Mass Education Department to convene a joint meeting of representatives of parents, teachers and private schools, and resolve the fee hike issue amicably. The principal secretary was also asked to appraise the court of the outcome of the meeting before the next date of hearing.
At least three PILs are now pending disposal in the high court pertaining to the common prayer of judicial intervention into what they called “arbitrary decision” of private schools in the state to hike fees though the institutes remained closed since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The petitioners are seeking complete exemption of tuition fees by private schools during this period saying that the state government has declared COVID-19 pandemic a disaster.
In a major development, Public health experts from three medical associations have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggesting that schools and other educational institutions should be reopened in a graded manner. The Indian Public Health Association, the Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine and the Indian Association of Epidemiologists stated that the closure has had a significant impact on the teaching-learning system and mental health of the children.
“It is time now to move towards normalcy. The opening of schools and other educational institutions could be started in a graded manner. There should be a pragmatic approach, especially in areas where a sufficient population is already infected,” the experts said.
Twenty members of the joint Covid-19 task force went on to say that schools may be opened with due safety measures with social distancing, alternate workdays & with adequate surveillance even in low infection areas.
In the Unlock-4 guidelines issued by the government, schools and educational institutes have been directed to remain closed. The experts said that the impact of school closure is higher on the children of lower socio-economic strata, who do not have social capital for alternatives like digital platforms.
They requested the government to discontinue the imposition of lockdown as a strategy to control the spread of coronavirus infection and said that limited restrictions should be imposed in epidemiologically-defined clusters for short periods.
Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has released the Combined Defence Services II, CDS Result 2019. The result has been released on upsc.gov.in. Suresh Chandra has topped the exam followed by Pravesh Kumar and Jatin Garg have secured rank 2nd and 3rd respectively.
196 candidates have been declared qualified on the basis of the results of the Combined Defence Services Exam (II), 2019 conducted by the Union Public Service Commission followed by the SSB interviews.
These are conducted by the Services Selection Board of the Ministry of Defence for admission to the 149th (DE) Course of Indian Military Academy, Dehradun; Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala, Kerala and Air Force Academy, Hyderabad (Pre-Flying) Training Course i.e. No. 208F(P) Course.
The number of vacancies to be filled is 100 for Indian Military Academy which includes 13 vacancies reserved for NCC ‘C’ certificates, 45 for Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala, Kerala Executive, including 06 vacancies reserved for NCC ‘C’ Certificate holders and 32 vacancies for Air Force Academy, Hyderabad which includes 3 vacancies are reserved for NCC ’C’ Certificate (Air Wing) holders.
The marks of the candidates will be available on the website after declaration of the final result of Officers’ Training Academy, OTA for the Combined Defence Services Examination II, 2019.
With COVID-19 onset, the integration of technology is necessary and inevitable in today’s classrooms. The digital transformation of education has been heralded as a vehicle of change; a great equalising force with the potential to drive social reform. Given this emphasis on technology in recent years, and the value it has been accorded as almost a silver bullet for improving education, it is unsurprising that India has adopted a nation-wide policy for the integration of technology in schools. Its purpose is to bridge the digital divide amongst students of various socioeconomic and other geographical barriers. For technology integration in education to have a real impact on learning outcomes, and for this digital transformation to effectively enhance the learning experience of students, the role of the teacher is pivotal.
Emphasizing on the role of teachers in the digital era, digitalLEARNING Magazine in association with Dr. C. V. Raman University, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh organised virtual “School Leadership Summit, Chhattisgarh” on 21st August 2020.
Stakeholders from the Chhattisgarh education sector participated in the full day conclave. The discussion revolved around the use of technology in schools, implementation of new National Education Policy, bridging the digital divide and many more. In the inaugural session Dr Ravi Gupta, CEO & Editor-in-Chief, Elets Technomedia welcomed the eminent speakers.
Santosh Choubey, Chairman & Managing Director-AISECT Ltd. ; Chancellor-Dr. C. V. Raman University said “We must start educating students on their own languages. We must empower students for working for society and learning new things and prepare them for enterprises. Holistic development of students must be our focus.”
To provide emphasis to book reading, Choubey also said “A Pustak Yatra was orgainised with over 1000 schools and skill education component. “
He also said “Our regulatory bodies have to change their perspectives regarding any institution. The qualitative part must be given more weightage and every university is different. My vision is global and we have tie-ups with over many universities outside India.”
“There is a great digital divide in the state. Students don’t have gadgets to study online. The cluster of schools is a great idea in a state like Chhattisgarh. Teacher trainings is very important to grow our educational institutions.”
He also said “The crisis can be turned as an opportunity, with new innovation and technology education sector can change its dynamics and open doors of opportunity for many.”
Dr. MVV Prasada Rao, Director, CBSE (Present at Centre of Excellence, Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh) said “The NEP has brought all the new things and many schools will be benefitted from the new policy. We must focus on quality and vocational education from early age of students. There are full of employment in India and we need to identify it. We must prepare students according to the industry needs.”
Emphasizing on skill education, he said “Students must be taught real life skills as skilled ones are getting huge pay packages. The NEP has provisions to help the economy of the country to grow.”
Over education in Chhattisgarh, he said “Chhattisgarh is a different state and leadership is also different. The students are also different in every city and things have to be redefined in a state like Chhattisgarh. The Lifeskills, soft skills, behavioural skills, must be taught to students. We are dealing with different type of people. “
Dr. S. Srikanta Swamy, Academic Consultant, Research & Analysis Wing, National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC ) said “Quality cannot come all of sudden. The selection of good leaders must be done carefully. Good leaders bring quality education and can develop a culture within the institutions. The quality of curriculum is very important for students.”
“Quality and Pedagogy of teaching is very important. We have to believe in functional education and leadership plays an important role. The rural standard cannot be compared with urban ones. The best practice is local specific, “ he added.
Over NEP, he said “The new policy focuses on arts, culture and languages. The NEP is talking about merit basis leadership selection. Universities must not only provide degrees but also do research for the nation.”
In the second session, the discussion was emphasized on “Future Proofing School Learning Ecosystem – Leveraging Innovation to Reskilling”.
Lt. Col Avinash Singh (Veteran), Head of the Institution, Rajkumar College, Raipur said “The COVID crisis has pushed institutions towards digital era. However, the digital divide due to technology is widening across the nation. According to a survey, 27 pc students don’t have access to gadgets. There are many worrying aspects and the government must focus on bridging the gaps.”
He also said, “it’s a bitter truth, the quality of education is provided by the private schools and govt must support them.”
Over the NEP, he said “The policy will bring many new changes in the education system but the implementation will be a huge challenge. Things cannot be changed overnight; it will take time to happen.”
Arup K Mukhopadhyay, CEO, Rungta Group of School, Bhilai said “The word we must use is ‘adaptive’. The next gen education will replace the traditional learning process. Culture plays an important role in imparting education. We need to focus on personalized learning, flexibility and prepare our students for interactive learning. Schools need to map the learning pace of students.”
He also said suddenly the classrooms have become glossy, the furniture has changed and blackboard changed to smartboard but the way of learning has not changed from decades. Now, it’s time to change the way of learning and teaching in educational institutions, he added.
Over teachers, he said “We need to focus on teacher training programmes. The National Education Policy also focuses on integration teachers’ programme. Technology can only assist the teacher but cannot replace him.”
Dr. Shruti Aeron Gupta, Director & Founder Principal, Brilliant Public Chain of Schools said “The NEP has tried to make education sector a student-centric. We need to focus on the relevance and effectiveness of education. We need to make education more meaningful for students. Learning must be celebrated and assessment ways must be changed. “
Over NEP, she said “The policy also advocates critical and designing thinking. We need to allow our students to make questions and understand new things. We must focus on the integration of education. We want students to be owners of their own education and teachers must change their mind-sets.”
She also said “Blending is the keyword the education and technology will bring children to the centre.”
Dr. P. Asokan, Principal, Delhi Public School, Raigarh said “Things have changed a lot with the onset of COVID-19 crisis. Many teachers are not acquainted to the new technology. The NEP has come as a huge relief for many schools. We need to provide proper training to teachers to conduct assessments as the proper evaluation is not happening in our classes. We need to change our way of education in schools.”
He also said “With the help of technology we can assess students better. Teachers can understand the emotional part of students but technology can’t. We need to have all-round development of students.”
He also said the technology will play an important role and blended learning should be introduced in our schools when they are re-opened.
Amol Arora, Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, Shemrock & Shemford Group of Schools, said “Pre-schools are most affected due to the crisis. Things will remain the same for pre-schools. The freedom must be continued in curriculum for students.”
Over NEP, he said “The implementation will be a huge challenge as it has to be on practical grounds. The approach of teaching and learning will different from the NEP. The focus on early education is a welcome step in the policy.”
He also said “It’s always about the children at the end of the day and the government is working with private players to improve the education sector.”
The third session of SLS, Chhattisgarh focused on “New Education Policy 2020 – Approaches, Opportunities & Challenges” .
Dr. Jawahar Surisetti, International Educationist, Adviser to Government, Smart City Expert said “The National Education Policy is one of most researched documents published by the government. It took over 4 years to publish. The policy is focused on student-centric and the Central government is trying to rectify all the mistakes in the education sector”.
Lauding the NEP, he said “The policy has created many entry and exit points for students, with credit transfers it has helped a lot. The NEP has focused to create one university in every district by 2030. It aims to bring education near children.”
Dr. Satyajit Hota, Principal, Allons Public School Bemetara Chhattisgarh said “The National Education Policy is consists of number of good policies. The GDP investment has surged to 6 pc and GER to 50 pc are the main points of NEP. Now breakfast is added for rural students with mid-day meals. The NEP has also focused to reduce dropouts. The three language system is also very important.”
He also said “Institutions must keep the focus on core content and quality of education. We must focus on 360-degree progress, holistic progress card, liberalization and equity of education.
Jayshree Nair, Principal, Brighton International School, Raipur said “For R&D government needs infra and trained teachers. According to the official statement, we have a 30:1 teacher, student ratio. We need to improve the ratio. Project-oriented learning should take place in schools. Virtual learning needs to take place in schools. The challenges will be huge in rural areas to implement NEP.”
He also said “The govt must focus on conceptual learning for students. Language can be a huge barrier for many and we need to address it. Expression can be a big issue for many students.”
He also said “Vocational education must be taught in schools. We must focus on stress free, less tutorials, Knowledge hub for our students.”
Kiranpal S. Chawla, Chairman, Career Point World School, Bilaspur said “The New Education Policy will revolutionize the education sector. The policy has also focused on early education of a child. We will have now 10 bagless days for students. There was no dignity for labour and now with NEP, students can understand the value of labour. The policy is going to be huge milestone in the education sector.”
He also said “The government has taken many initiative and we must help them. Schools must be given chance to decide the curriculum.” The myth will be broken over the education and children will be benefitted, he added.
“Teachers training will be the main focus. More and more people will aspire to become teachers”, he added.
In the post-lunch session, the discussion was focused on “Bridging the Digital & Economic Divide in Education – NEP 2020 Perspective”
Keshari Lal Varma, Vice Chancellor, Pt Ravi Shankar University, Raipur said “The NEP is focused from Primary education to Higher education. The world is moving towards technology learning. Earlier, children were asked to use e-content but the acceleration was missing. The COVID accelerated the e-learning across the country. There is a digital divide witnessed in Chhattisgarh and we are trying to bridge it.”
He also said “We are trying to provide quality education to all. We have made everything digital from last two years. We must implement the NEP effectively in the sector.”
Prof Bharat Bhaskar, Director, IIM Raipur said “The NEP focuses on overall development of a child. The higher education has the biggest challenge. We must recalibrate our thinking and restructure syllabus. For first time govt is putting up private and govt institutions on single platform. The education sector has to grab the NEP faster. However, schools require much larger financing to adapt the NEP.”
He also said “In coming days, there will be multidisciplinary universities. All the funding will be managed by a single committee which will be managed by academicians. IITs have become multidisciplinary in coming day.”
Priyanka Tripathi, Principal, Krishna Public School, Raipur said “Everything changed suddenly for teachers as they have to start teaching on digital platforms. It was a great challenge for schools in the beginning but with time they adopted it with grace. There is a huge digital gap in the state. If technology will be available for students then they will take it up.”
She also said “This divide will continue if low-cost data is not provided to students. The govt should work with the community. We have to adjust our resources for the betterment of education.
Shiladitya Ghosh, Director Principal, NH Goel World School, Raipur said “Technology has to reach to every part of the country. Teachers have to lead from the front in this pandemic and they have to discover multiple ways of teaching. The NEP has admitted that there is a learning crisis and it will form NPST for first time to upgrade teachers. The standards of teachers must be upgraded every five years.”
She also said “It is important for institutions to find out new ways to communicate with students.”
Kalpana Singh, Principal, Delhi Public School, Janjgir-Champa said “Education is equally important as food for children. Parents are not really trying to understand the use of online classes. Teachers are trying multiple ways to reach students. We tried to counsel parents over the online classes and after sometimes parents supported us. With time online classes started running smoothly.”
She also said “NEP offers to select subjects for students. This is the need of the hour that every institution must have professional counselors for students. We should motivate each other and teachers in these testing times.”
In the last session, the discussion focused on “School to Higher Education Learner Transition – Building Progressive & Innovative Future of Students.”
Prof. P. K Naik, Pro Vice Chancellor, Dr C V Raman University said “With National Education Policy there will be huge changes in education sector. The NEP focuses on holistic development of a child. There is flexibility in choice of subjects for students. The multiple entry and exit points are very commendable and it focuses on student learning.”
Over role of teachers, he said “Nobody can take the place of a teacher, technology cannot replace teachers, and it can only assist them. However, teachers have to change their methodology of teaching.
Gaurav Shukla, Registrar, Dr C V Raman University said “The education sector is facing diverse issue with the pandemic. Family members are the first teachers for any student and from there they go to schools and then higher studies. It is very important to have linkages between every part of education. The system has been changed from time to time. “
Over NEP, he said “The best part of focus on surge in Gross Enrollment Ratio. There is huge dropout ratio in Higher Education in the state. We have provided high tech labs, huge library and radio station for local people. We need to preserve our culture. By 2030, there will be one university in every district, which will make education easier.”
Dr. Mansi Aggarwal, Founder Director, Scottish Early Years, Delhi said “The NEP is a step towards the future. The advancement is very much necessary for any child. A lot of people don’t focus on early childhood education. The policy has opened new options for students.”
She also said “Digital innovation is the need of the hour and it was accelerated by the COVID-19. The digital innovation for delivering is also important. We need a change in mind-set with multiple subjects. We have to come up with more innovate way to train teachers. The teachers will have to open their minds for the development of a child.”
She also said creating awareness is also a main issue. Teacher plays an important role. Parents need to be guided regularly.”
Supriya AP, Principal, Delhi Public School, Dhamtari said “The NEP is a very welcoming step and it’s student-centric. India has the third-largest number of students in higher education but are we maintaining the standards is the main question. The implementation of NEP will be a huge challenge. We have to change things for the future generation.”
She also said “There is a difference between theoretical knowledge and employability skills. There must be job orientated curriculum in schools which can help them. Acquiring a degree is not sufficient; we need to develop skills within the students.”
Over teachers, she said “Teachers are important pillars. They should be teacher by choice not by chance. and counseling must be a part of teacher training.”
She also said the policy has taken the education to a different level.
