School paints walls to provide lessons to poor students

News

By

-

August 25, 2020

A school in Maharashtra’s Solapur city has found a new way of imparting education to students who are unable to afford smartphones for online classes. The school painted walls of houses in the vicinity of schools with lessons from textbooks.

Over 300 outer walls of various houses in Nilamnagar area of Solapur have been painted with simplified lessons from textbooks of various subjects of Classes 1 to 10.

Nearly 1,700 students from nearby areas study in the primary school and its secondary section Shri Dharmanna Sadul Prashala. Many students come from poor families as their parents are labourers, mostly working in textile units of the district are studying in the govt school.

Also read: Minister: Delhi govt’s free coaching scheme for meritorious students to resume soon

The lessons painted on the walls include introduction to letters, numbers, word and sentence formation, grammar, mathematical formulas, general knowledge and lessons from various other subjects. The school is also conducting online classes for students who have smartphonesor other gadgets at home.

Nearly 1,700 students, mostly from Nilamnagar, are enrolled in the primary and secondary sections of the school. The lessons painted on the walls are not only benefitting them, but also students from two to three other schools located nearby.

Pokhriyal: National Bal Bhawan to start a national level award for children

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

August 25, 2020

Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, on Tuesday, directed the National Bal Bhavan, an autonomous institute, to organize national awards for children.

The minister said that the awards will motivate and encourage the children’s overall development.

Pokhriyal was speaking at the review meeting for the National Bal Bhavan. Pokhriyal, through his official social media account, said: “I advised the officials to start felicitating children by organizing ‘Children’s Awards’ at a national level to motivate them and encourage their overall development, creative energy, and positive growth.”

Also read: Pokhriyal launches guidelines on internship embedded degree programmes

The minister said that he also reviewed the grants, expenditures and other programmes at the institute. Pokhriyal said : “I looked into the details of grants or expenditures of National Bal Bhavan and the proposal of three years programmes (2020-22).I also reviewed the posts, and vacancies of National Bal Bhavan and multiple activities lined up for 2020.”

Nishank said that National Bal Bhawan is a great platform for our children to learn various creative activities and we should expand its activities in regional centres also so that more children get benefit of this platform. He said that in order to promote creative activities among children National Bal Bhawan should start a national level award for children and directed officials to make a plan on this matter.

Today, I held a review meeting with senior officials of @EduMinOfIndia and National Bal Bhavan.
During the meeting, I assessed the progress made by @nbbdelhi in the last two years, its current membership details & training programmes. pic.twitter.com/jWDGqnb9wJ

— Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) August 25, 2020

Bihar govt inaugurates new Higher Secondary schools in 3,304 panchayats

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

August 25, 2020

To provide education to all, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar inaugurated a number of new Higher Secondary Schools in as many as 3,304 panchayats in the state. Out of the 8.386 panchayats in the state 5,082 have higher secondary schools and the remaining 3,304 have now been covered.

The Chief Minister stated that studies for class 9 students will begin in the schools in the 2020-21 academic year. The government had earlier announced that the Higher Secondary Schools will be opened in all the panchayats of the state by April.

The spread of education among the girls will result in a drop in the fertility rate in the state is the focus of the state govt.

Also read: Bihar Govt offers Rs 1 lakh incentive to SC/ST aspirants clearing UPSC Prelims

The Chief Minister while referring to a study conducted stated that the fertility rate in the state has been found to be on par with the national average or even lower among women who have studied until class 12.

The state government has recruited around 3.5 lakh teachers and decided to provide them with several benefits as well.

The Bihar state government announced a range of benefits for the 3.5 lakh contractual teachers appointed by the Panchayati Raj institutions and urban local bodies. The chief minister stated that the government has decided to implement a 15 percent salary hike for the teachers from April 1, 2021.

Microsoft to train 900 faculty members from top institutes

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

August 25, 2020

Tech giant Microsoft said it will train 900 faculty members from top Indian institutes. The US-based firm is launching a new programme to build quantum computing skills and capabilities in the academic community in India.

Microsoft is organising a ‘Train the Trainer’ programme in collaboration with Electronics and ICT Academies at Malaviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT), Jaipur and National Institute of Technology, Patna.

This programme will train 900 faculty members from universities and institutes across India through E&ICT Academies at institutes of national importance such as IIT Kanpur, IIT Guwahati, IIT Roorkee, MNIT Jaipur, NIT Patna, IIIT-D Jabalpur, and NIT Warangal, equipping academics with the required skills to start building their quantum future.

Also read: CBSE, Microsoft join hands to train school teachers in using technology

Quantum computing applies the properties of quantum physics to process information. Quantum computers will enable new discoveries in the areas of healthcare, energy, environmental systems, smart materials, and beyond.

Key themes that will be covered include an introduction to quantum information, quantum concepts such as superposition and entanglement, processing of information using qubits and quantum gates, as well as an introduction to quantum machine learning and quantum programming, the statement said.

Council of Architecture releases NATA 2020 admit card

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

August 25, 2020

Providing huge relief to lakhs of students, Council of Architecture has now released the NATA Admit Card 2020. Students who will appear for the examination can download the admit card through the official site of NATA on nata.in. The exam would be conducted on August 29, 2020 at various centres across the nation.

The Council has already conducted the mock test from August 21 to August 22, 2020. The mock test was mandatory for students who would appear for the first phase exam. Part A Test (Drawing Test) will not be a paper-based drawing test but as a preferential choice type test which is to be answered on a computer.

Also read: CoA postpones NATA first and second test

The examination is of 3 hours and will be conducted between 10: 00 AM to 1:15 PM with a 15 minutes break between the MCQ test and the Drawing paper.

Steps to download NATA Admit Card 2020:

-Visit the official website- nata.in.

-Find and Click on the “Admit Card” link.

-Enter the Application number and password.

-Click on the “Submit” button.

-NATA admit card 2020 will be displayed on the screen.

Union Education Minister reviews activities of NIOS

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

August 24, 2020

Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank reviewed various activities of NIOS. The meeting was attended by Secretary, School Education and Literacy, Anita Karwal, Joint Secretary, School Education, Sweety Changsan and senior officials of NIOS.

During the meeting Pokhriyal stressed on transparent working of the Institution so that it may produce better results. The Minister also discussed on strengthening the examination mechanism. He said that if we found some irregularities within the institution then we should take tough actions against the culprit. He directed NIOS officials that that if you receive any complaint against NIOS examination centres then you should resolve the complaint as soon as possible.

Also read: Pokhriyal: Universities not to affiliate over 300 colleges

The Education Minister said that NIOS is the world’s biggest open schooling system and we should use it more effectively to provide education to the grass root level. He said that we should also use its network to provide literacy to illiterate people of our country. He directed officials to form a team to review the possibility on this matter.

Pokhriyal also reviewed the courses offered by NIOS for their students. He was briefed that NIOS is offering multiple subjects for their students. The Minister suggested that we should make NIOS syllabus on the line of NCERT so that students can get better understanding of the subject.

Dy CM Narayan: Karnataka to be the first state to implement NEP

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

August 24, 2020

Deputy chief minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan said Karnataka would become the first state in the country to implement the new National Education Policy.

“The state government is making all preparations to bring in administrative reforms and amendments to the laws which are essential to implement the national education policy. The state would become the first state in the country to implement the policy,”said Narayan.

The deputy CM also said while addressing the inaugural session of a five-day online workshop on Highlights of the national education policy and its implementation.

“The workshop is being organised by the Bangalore University. The deputy chief minister said the state government is going ahead with regard to this with specific goals and a clear agenda.

Also read: Pokhriyal holds meeting over NEP with officials

“A high-level task force was constituted immediately after the draft of the policy reached us and this committee has already held several meetings,” Narayan added.

The committee has already come out with suggestions to implement the policy in a phased manner and only the recommendations of the final stage are awaited. The administrative and legal steps would be taken as soon as the final recommendations are made, Narayan explained.

The new policy would make high-quality education available to all students benefitting the whole system with quality teaching, Narayan said.

UGC asks higher education institutions to deploy RT-PCR machines in hospitals

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

August 24, 2020

To fight against COVID-19, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked higher education and research institutions to facilitate deployment of RT-PCR test machines available with them at nearby district hospitals and government labs conducting COVID-19 tests.

The higher education regulator has noted that temporary deployment of such machines can create additional facilities for around 60,000 tests per day.

UGC Secretary Rajnish Jain said, “In order to address the increasing demand for COVID-19 testing, it is essential that the test centers are strengthened further by the addition of more RT-PCR machines. There are a large number of machines available with educational and research institutions under various departments and are capable of performing RT-PCR tests and currently, not being used in any critical area.”

Also read: SC reserves order over UGC final year exams

“It has been elucidated that by temporarily deploying such machines in district hospitals and government laboratories, additional testing facilities of about 60,000 tests per day can be created. “In view of this, all higher education institutions and research institutions are requested to facilitate temporary deployment of machines from the institutes in consultation with the department of health research in district hospitals and government labs performing COVID-19 tests by August 31,” he added.

NTA releases details of exam centres for NEET 2020

News

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

August 24, 2020

National Testing Agency (NTA) has released the exam center details for NEET 2020 exam. Candidates who will appear for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test 2020 can check their exam center through the official site of NTA NEET on ntaneet.nic.in. The admit card is expected to release soon on the official site.

The examination will be conducted on September 13, 2020. Students have been protesting against the conduct of the examination amid this pandemic. Petitions were filed by parents and students to cancel the examination, which was later rejected by the Supreme Court on August 18.

The Agency has informed that the allotment of Centre City would be done in advance to the applicants which would be updated on the official website. This would be done to avoid last-minute problems for the candidates. It is well known that the candidates would have to travel amid lockdown conditions in various states thus an advance notice on the centers would be helpful to them.

Also read: NTA releases protocol for JEE Main, NEET 2020 exams aspirants

The Agency has also released a detailed safety plan for the exam that will be conducted in September. The comprehensive plan and the advisory has been devised based on various instructions, guidelines, and orders issued in regard to the pandemic.

Itisha Peerbhoy, Head-Marketing, Ken42: Ed-tech firms will make learning easy

Interviews

By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

August 24, 2020

1. How is your journey so far in the ed-tech industry?

The Ed-tech industry is coming of age with several new players entering the market with solutions for institutions to tackle the current crises. So far, we have seen a lot of innovation and tech, but there is a gap for a strategic solution that pre-empts the future and solves institutions’ problems on the whole, rather than in current times.

2. What are your plans for Ken42 in the coming days?

Ken42 is already being implemented in six premier institutions. We’re well on our way to signing up with several more and plan to go overseas in 2021. There will be over 1,00,000 students using Ken42 by September 2020.

3. How COVID-19 has changed the dynamics of ed-tech firms in India?

Ed-tech firms are seeing a huge uptick in demand and download. This is fueled by anxiety around job retention and creation when shelter-in-place ends. There is also increased usage among students of all ages who are looking to curb learning loss and remain in touch with the syllabus. While ed-tech firms found themselves going after consumers, they now see consumers approaching them. The current situation has also created the need for better content, as the hook for consumers is content over tech.

Also read: Ed-tech startup LEAD School raises Rs 210 cr

4. How ed-tech firms are planning to penetrate rural areas?

The low-hanging fruit in rural areas for ed-tech is STEM content in Indian languages. In addition to making exposure to technology at a young age, ed-tech will have to make learning easy to access via low bandwidth and limited gadgets. Another interesting trend already being implemented is the ‘school on wheels’ formula with which students in rural areas are able to get exposure to learning technology on a regular basis.

5. Will distance learning be the next big things; what are your plans to tap the huge market?

Distance learning has been around for decades and will continue to remain so. However, there is a difference between the distance learner and the on-campus learner and their needs. Institutions stand for more than just the impart of education, it is also about the experience of the campus, the networks, and the interaction with educators. Ken42 enables institutions of all kinds to deliver better learning outcomes for their students, improve staff productivity and facilitate essentials processes so that the university can focus on syllabus formation, policy-making, and building a brand among other functions, enabling them to grow in size and reputation. This includes distance learning institutes, brick and mortar institutes, coaching centres and more.

LATEST NEWS

Top Trending News

Top Trending Categories