The Union Cabinet has approved the continuation of pre-matric, post matric and merit-cum-means based scholarship schemes for students belonging to minority communities.
According to an official statement released in this regard said that the scholarships are likely to cost over Rs 5,000 crore up to 2020. Under the schemes, around 70 lakh scholarships are likely to be disbursed annually, the statement further said.
“The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the proposal for continuation of pre-matric, post matric and merit-cum-means based scholarship schemes for the students belonging to the six notified minority communities at a total cost of Rs. 5338.32 crore for period up to 2019-20,” it added.
The students who have secured not less than 50 per cent marks in the previous final examination and studying in government schools, institutes or recognised private schools and institutes will be eligible for the scholarship.
These schemes shall be implemented through the National Scholarship Portal (NSP) and scholarships will be disbursed through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode.
“The objective of the pre-matric scholarship scheme is to encourage parents from minority communities to send their children (from Class I to X) to school, lighten their financial burden on school education and sustain their efforts to support their children to complete school education,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, Minority affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha, said, “The Government is working for the development of minorities through educational empowerment, skill development, economic empowerment, preservation of traditional skills and infrastructural development in minority concentration area, etc. Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Zoroastrians are the six religious minority communities in the country.”
The Delhi government will build 12,748 new rooms including around 10,000 classrooms in its schools in the next one and half years, Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said today.
The entire project will incur a cost of around Rs. 2,892 crore. The cabinet sanctioned construction of a total 12,748 rooms in Delhi government schools, including 9,981 classrooms, 106 multipurpose halls and 328 laboratories. It also includes 204 libraries, principal, vice principal and staff rooms, as well as 1,067 toilet blocks, stated the Delhi government’s official communiqué released today.
Construction of these rooms will incur an estimated cost of Rs. 2,892.65 crore. This will include Rs 1,300 crore in the current financial year and Rs 1,562.65 crore during 2019-20 fiscal, Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio, said.
He said the Delhi government wants to develop capacity of the schools run by it and the municipal corporations to facilitate accommodating at least 44 lakh children there. Since coming to power in 2015, the AAP government has built over 8,000 rooms in its schools and with the construction of new rooms, the total number will cross 20,000, the deputy chief minister added.
The Central government has renewed the appointment of Prof Anil D Sahasrabudhe as the chairman of the technical and professional education regulator All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
Prof Anil D Sahasrabudhe Graduated from BVB College of Engineering and Technology, Hubli affiliated to Karnataka University, Dharwad, Karnataka in Mechanical Engineering with First Rank and Gold medal in 1980. Subsequently, he obtained Master’s and Doctoral (with UGC Fellowship) degrees from Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore in 1982 and 1989 respectively.
Prof Anil D Sahasrabudhe, in his illustrious career spanning more than three decades, has held several important academic, research and administrative positions. He started his career as Scientific Officer, at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore in 1983 and moved to Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE) as Engineer in the same year. He served as Lecturer and Assistant Professor at North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology (NERIST), Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh) from 1987-1988 & again from 1989-1995, before joining IIT Guwahati as Associate Professor in 1995. Further, he also served as Director, College of Engineering, Pune (CoEP) since 2006 on deputation from IIT, Guwahati prior to joining as AICTE Chairman.
Prof Anil D Sahasrabudhe is presently working as Chairman & Expert Member on various National Level Committees. Some of these include: Chairman, Basic Scientific Research (BSR), Empowered Committee of UGC, SWAYAM Board and Chairman BOG of NIT Itanagar. As a Member/Fellow he is actively involved in the activities of many Professional Bodies/Societies, such as ISTE, ASME, ASEE, ASI, IET, Institution of Engineers (IE).
Central Government’s main objective behind introducing the ‘Bridge Course’ is to open the doors for formal and mainstream education for dropout students, said Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Saturday.
Elaborating on the recent steps taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi led Government to not just improve the education system for the marginal sections, but also to best prepare them for the job opportunities of the future, the Union Minister clarified that the Government’s agenda is not to shut down religious seminaries (Madrasas), but to provide an opportunity to every student to secure a better job.
“The course aims to get school dropouts and madrasa students into the mainstream. The Central Government does not want to shut down the doors of Madrasas, it only wants to open the doors for formal and mainstream education. School dropout rate among Muslim girls has considerably decreased. It has come down from 70 per cent to 35 per cent, due to our awareness and educational empowerment programmes,” Naqvi said.
So far, a total of 260 students have been trained in the ‘Bridge Course’ initiated by the Government, out of which, 182 candidates have successfully completed the course.
We believe in imparting quality education to the students so that they develop intellectual capacity, skills, right attitude in addition to humane and cognitive abilities, says R K Trivedi, Dean, O P Jindal Group of Schools, in conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).
How do you perceive the current technology-driven education scenario?
R K Trivedi, Dean, O P Jindal Group of Schools
The learners of present time are digital citizens and a technology-driven education environment is well suited to their adaptive needs. Today, innovative and creative blending of traditional pedagogical approaches with digital contents and technology is transforming the learning experiences and outcomes. Digitalisation of records and opening of high-tech communication channels between various stakeholders of education has led to their integration and empowerment. Conversely, preserving and guarding digital data is now a new imperative for schools. Educators must now demonstrate to their students how to use technology as a tool to gather correct knowledge and reject forged knowledge acquired through a process of copying and pasting without understanding. Schools also need to take up the challenge of maintaining a balance between the goals of education and excessive dependence on technology.
What are the innovative methods you have introduced in your school?
We constantly challenge ourselves in order to bring the best possible solutions to cater to the needs of our students who come from diverse socio-economic and cultural strata. A judicious blend of traditional and technology-based method is implemented for the Pre-Primary Section. Writing Slate boards promoting ease of writing, storytelling method; simulated learning environment for integrated learning has been implemented alongside diagnostic Assessment Sheets for personalised learning. Life Skills are emphasised in the school calendar, right from the junior most class.
Our school promotes the competitive spirit in academic excellence by conducting Competency tests in core subjects from Primary Section onwards. CMP committee monitors CMP or Common Minimum Programme. A theme-based Science Park for experimenting with science apparatus is aimed to stimulate scientific enquiry of learners of all ages.
In order to develop the diverse co-scholastic skills of our talented students, the school conducts special evening coaching for sports, visual and performing arts.
Freedom to express is promoted and guaranteed to teachers and students alike. Several social services are designed and executed by and for the students, giving them opportunities to think, act and proudly exhibit their works throughout the year.
What initiatives are being taken in your institution?
Our institution pursues a nationalistic philosophy and our nation’s agenda is our agenda. We are dedicated and committed to bringing transformations in the ecology and demographics in and around the periphery of our school.
A large-scale and sustained tree plantation programme as a community participation project helped our teachers and students to plant around 6,000 trees. In second stage of plantation project, we have set the target of planting 10,000 trees by 2020.
Initiative of imparting Digital and Financial Literacy to the students of schools in our periphery, 20 schools have already been provided 100 % Digital Literacy.
An inclusive education is part of our school’s corporate responsibility that is actively implemented in our school catering to the students of 32 peripheral villages.
Various activity clubs and International associations/collaborations like the British Council, IAYP, UNESCO, USO, SpicMacay activities help our children to carve an edge to their personalities. We believe in the benefits of developing competency in area-multilingualism. Our students learn not only the prescribed languages but also regional languages and international languages like German. Blended learning activities on language development in school assembly are one of our child-centric learning initiatives in this area.
Our strive for excellence extends to CPD of our teaching staff. Frequent in-house, interactive training sessions are organised by, and for the teachers where they share, brainstorm, and standardize the best teaching practices to be adopted by the school.
Our school functioning is being monitored, recorded, evaluated on a day-to-day basis through the software & systems developed and maintained by in-house, full time tech-professionals.
We comply and abide by all the ethical and mandatory CBSE and Government of India norms and the agenda of the nation.
How do you ensure holistic development of students?
We are focused on accomplishing our school mission and vision in complete letter and spirit. We endeavour to sculpt and integrate the varied aspects of each student’s character and personality and groom him/her as a life-long learner, responsible citizen and above all a good human being. This is secured through a child-centric pedagogy oriented in activity-based learning.
An emphasis on Yoga helps students to connect their mind and body as well as reach out to the roots of our ancient heritage. We promote sports with a conviction in its far-reaching impact on not only physical and motor development, but also team spirit. The annual calendar of school activities is carefully planned and executed for a balanced learning in a technology driven environment.
What methods have you introduced to encourage creative bent of mind?
A proximity to nature, with trees peeping inside classrooms provides an apt ambiance to the mind with a creative bent. While designing and executing their lessons, our teachers who hail from diverse cultures and demography bring the desired creative thinking prompts to their students. This exposure stimulates students to tap into their own creativity by blending inputs from our rich heritage and their own rich experiences. Students are engaged in myriad activities to stimulate their creative thinking in visual arts, performing arts, languages and other core subjects.
Freedom to express is promoted and guaranteed to teachers and students alike. Several social services are designed and executed by and for the students giving them opportunities to think, act and proudly exhibit their works throughout the year.
It is the teacher who guides students and filters information. They are facilitators and not information providers, says Sudha Acharya, Principal, ITL Public School, Dwarka, New Delhi, in an interview with Elets News Network (ENN).
How do you perceive the current education scenario?
Sudha Acharya, Principal, ITL Public School, Dwarka, New Delhi
For me, education means preparing a child for life. Education does not mean only a curriculum, or how to score good marks. Education means when a child has holistic development – inclusive of education, appropriate skills, values and attitude so that the child develops social and emotional intelligence and can give back to the society. Our motive is to globalise Indian thought.
What role does a teacher play in a classroom?
There has been a paradigm shift in the current teaching scenario – from expert to novice to learner to learner. Hence, the teacher stands as a lifelong learner; as a facilitator who guides the student and filters information. The ever compelling addicts to all kind of information play havoc to young mind. It is precisely at this crucial juncture that the facilitators guide through a series of age appropriate informal for intellectual growth.
What initiatives are being taken in your school for the overall development of students?
ITL School is completely inclusive school. There are more than 50 children with special needs in our school. We take good care of them. Currently, we have five children with special needs in Class 10, one of them has scored 78% with music and home science. We give them a platform by modifying the curriculum, including the games wherein 100% participation is a must. There is no competition. .
When a child has holistic development, the child develops social intelligence, emotional intelligence and can give back to the society.
Which are the top technologies that you have incorporated in the school?
Our school is a smart school; all the classrooms have smart boards. We have a well equipped Language Lab, Maths Lab and 3D Technology too. Foreign Exchange programme are yet another forum where cross culture learning takes place. Recently, our exchange with Egypt has not only made students culturally aware but augmented learning through exchange of best practice.
We adopt innovative pedagogical practice of recording audios of classroom lecture for hearing impaired student and video for students with low vision. Such reinforcement makes our students confident and better learners.
How do you encourage creativity and innovation among students?
Students of our school have taken a great project in their account under Start Up India Project. The Chemistry and Biology department came up with the school with an idea to manufacture in house Ayurvedic produce in school. School’s herbal garden – Sanjeevani Vatika became the crucial hub for herbal sources. The Chemistry & Biology department initiated the idea to develop HERBAL based Mosquito Repellent, Floor Cleaner, Hand Sanitizer, Facial Moisturisers, Lip Balm and Organic Hair Oil. Subsequently the products were sent to FICCI for authentication. This was followed by the commerce department where in pricing, branding, tagging, sales promotion and packaging was done. This was culminated with Skill Bazar, where students sell and market all the handmade products. Amount secured & raised through Skill Bazar Venture was reinvested & the surplus amount was donated to orphanage. Venture like these are experiential learning which is the purpose of education.
A student will grow into a responsible citizen of tomorrow with decision-making and problem-solving skills that will prepare them for every situation in life, says Sharmila Chatterjee, Principal – Billabong High International School, Noida, in conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).
How do you perceive the prevailing education system?
Sharmila Chatterjee, Principal – Billabong High International School, Noida
The current education system in India may be classified as one of the most robust, structured yet complex system in the world with a large scope of further enhancements and progress.
India is a diverse nation. Its complexity arises from the scope of its length and breadth of the country with varied languages, culture, literature and innovations. India has more than a million schools with state boards, CBSE, ICSE and international boards. Several Government initiatives have helped India provide sustainable basic education. Universal Primary education, Sarva Shishka Abhiyan and above all the RTE 2009 make schooling free and compulsory till grade eight and has seen phenomenal progress in educational performance in the country.
But the challenges are manifold with dropout rate increasing after elementary level, the economically weaker sections are impacted adversely as getting education is not their prime need, and most importantly we are struggling with poor-level of student learning outcomes in both scholastic and co-scholastic results.
The policymakers and the new education policy in the making should focus on skill development and vocationalisation with emphasis on integrating the curriculum with latest developments in information and technology and 21st century skills for learners. We should aim on creating holistic learning and education systems.
How significant is holistic learning in the present times?
Being in the field of education for two-and-ahalf decades, I have come to increasingly believe that schools should focus on holistic education, as it encompasses the development of both academic and non-academic skills comprising the learner’s intellectual, socio-emotional, kinesthetic or physical, creative, artistic or aesthetics and spiritual domains of learning.
Holistic learning will provide real life experiences which may have success and deterrents or roadblocks. The learner will use problem solving and decision making skills in the process of learning or solving a given situation. The learner will also show resilience, healthy social and emotional behaviour, which is the real purpose of holistic learning. Schools that believe in imparting holistic learning will foster a culture of continuous learning and will create life-long learners.
In today’s time the parents are looking towards the school for providing their children with all life skills and integrated learning for a better prepared youth in future. Therefor it becomes imperative on the part of the schools to create and impart holistic education to the learners, as today’s learner is tomorrow’s citizen of the nation.
It is imperative for schools to trend with modern technologies by incorporating them with regular teaching-learning in the classrooms.
Considering the steadily changing scenario, what vision should drive the educationists?
Educationists should encourage emotional and mental wellness along with physical and kinesthetic development in students. The vision of the educational leaders should be to encourage innovation as well as autonomy to learners and mentors. Imparting life skills and values among the young learners should be of primary focus for the educationists. Students should be inculcated with respect to nature and flora-fauna. This will nurture the learners to be global citizens and respect diversity.
Are there any special initiatives being undertaken to enhance the learning or teaching experience at your school?
Billabong High International Noida (BHIS), a CBSE affiliated school is one of the best international schools in Noida that envisions to create an educational system of ‘individualised learning’ that brings out the human excellence in every child. We take pride in being a sensitive school. We have a distinct centre for children with special needs named “Sanchetna” — centre for children with special needs. It is our endeavour to reach out to the children who have specific learning or multiple disabilities by providing them inclusive education with support of specialised therapists. ‘Educate, Engage and Inspire’ is what the teachers practice in the classrooms of BHIS, Noida. The educators here equip the learners with the knowledge and life skills that will enable them to face the future with confidence and responsibility. The goals of the BHIS curriculum lie in developing the cognitive, creative, aesthetic, language and social-emotional skills. The mentors at Billabong High International School, Noida transact curriculum keeping in mind the following parameters: Bloom’s Taxonomy & The Multiple Intelligence theory – The different learning style, Neuroscience & Brain Research Theory, Digital Age & Globalisation and Theme based learning till middle school.
We follow an integrated curriculum wherein all the disciplines and subjects are interwoven and every concept reflects upon all the areas of the curriculum. The learning tasks are designed in a way that the learners move from lower order thinking skills to higher order thinking skills. Billabong High International School encourages students from a young age to take the initiative and go where no man has gone before. Their leadership qualities are nurtured through participation in a competitive house system and student prefect ship. School Life skills Programme – BHIS, Noida is the regional center for Excellence for Imparting Life skills and training Adolescents Peer Educators for Life Skills. The well-being of students is taken care of by the school counsellors through life skill sessions by creating awareness among them and being available for the students in dealing with their academic, emotional and social issues.
What modern technologies are being used in your school?
Besides focusing on life skills development of the learners, it is imperative for schools to trend with modern technologies by incorporating them with regular teaching-learning in the classrooms. At BHIS, Noida, we integrate our curriculum with ICT at all application levels. ICT modules are integral part of lesson plans be it in introducing topics – during the content delivery or plenary sessions and even assessments.
The school campus is Wi-Fi enabled, and has two well-equipped computer labs ensuring each child has one system to work on, along with state-of-the-art audio-visual rooms separate for preschool, primary and senior school learners. The teachers are provided with work stations fully equipped with ICT provisions.
The school has a dynamic website and is interacting with parents through digital mediums like Facebook, twitter etc. As the curriculum is multi-disciplinary in nature, ICT enables both the learner and the mentor/facilitator to enhance learning, imbibing problem solving and critical thinking skills.
The ICFAI Group’s culture of teaching and learning supports and fosters intellectual and personality development among its graduating students. We carry an attitude of ownership of our work, says Sudhakar Rao, Director, Branding, ICFAI Group, in an interview with Elets News Network (ENN).
How the innovation in programmes is helping the ICFAI to be among the top ranked B-Schools of India?
Sudhakar Rao, Director, Branding, ICFAI Group
The ICFAI Business School (IBS) is known for excellence in management education. The B-School nurtures the resources with the right set of knowledge, skills and attitude to meet the requirements of corporate world.
IBS has distinguished itself from other B-Schools in India by focusing on action-based learning and close involvement with the industry. The curriculum of IBS is industry-orientated with case pedagogy comparable to the best across the globe ensuring good return on knowledge. As a result of richness in curriculum, case pedagogy, industry recognition and accreditation at both national and international levels, IBS has attracted collaborations with the best foreign business schools.
ICFAI has introduced Case Study methodology. Please share about it and the Case Research Center of ICFAI.
Case study method is the key component of the academic programmes at IBS. ICFAI is one of the few institutions in India that have made case-based learning a critical component of pedagogy. Almost all the courses in ICFAI are taught through case studies. The case studies are being tailor-made to the requirements of different subjects and topics. Student evaluation is based on class participation and reports submitted by them. Students are encouraged to analyse the issues by gathering supportive information either through published sources or by directly interacting with the companies involved.
The Case Research Center (CRC) is a centre of excellence of ICFAI Group developing high quality internationally benchmarked case studies. A dedicated and dynamic team works toward fulfilling the institution’s mission of developing high quality case studies, for its constituents as well as contributing cases to B-schools and organisations through The Case Centre, UK.
Outstanding Achievements by the Case Research Centre
ICFAI is the third largest contributor of cases, next only to Harvard and INSEAD B-Schools
In 2015, 7% of The Case Centre’s 150 Best Selling Cases were from ICFAI
ICFAI Cases were taught in more than 870 B-Schools across 75 countries in the world
In 2015, the sales of ICFAI cases made up 7.5% of the total The Case Centre’s sales
ICFAI currently contributes 6,000 cases to The Case Centre, UK
Nurturing employable youth is one of the missions of every higher educational institute, what practices are followed at ICFAI to bridge the industry-academia gap?
Action-oriented teaching coupled with hands-on managerial experience in the summer internship programme and real time problem solving assignments from the corporate help the students to be industry ready. Continuous interaction with industry, experts talk and feedback forms the base for upgradation of curriculum which differentiates ICFAI from others. Corporate Relations Cell, Alumni Network, Management Development Programmes and Mentoring have enhanced the skills of students required to get better placements.
Along with studies, it is important to develop a globally competitive personality of students, what steps have been undertaken by ICFAI in this regard?
Student Clubs have been formed in ICFAI institutions to help students to get exposure to both curricular and extracurricular activities. Students participate actively in these clubs. These clubs help students understand the nuances related to managing people, behaviour of people, leadership skills and working in teams, which is the key to become successful managers.
The soft-skills training also enable students to judge their communication abilities. There is also a focus on improving the EQ of our future leaders so that they are able to deal with the human element while running any organisation.
How are you placed in the market?
What are your vision and mission for expansion in education sector? Our vision is Merit with Ethics. Our mission is to offer world class, innovative, career-oriented professional post graduate and undergraduate programs through inclusive technology-aided pedagogies to equip students with the requisite professional and life skills as well as social sensitivity and high sense of ethics.
Our model is unique and the continuous placement results year after year is a testimony to our credibility in market.
What are the initiatives taken by you to support ICFAI in achieving its present brand value?
The initiatives taken by the university are:
Engaging inspiring leaders
Two way relationship building with Top Corporate Executives
Pursuing ethical business practices
Mentoring the students to focus on productivity and good work ethic
Learning – Teaching based on making industry efficient by producing competitive human resources
Focus on Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurial Mindset
EmpowerU applies innovative analytical solutions and a 360-degree approach to improve the standards of the education system, says Onkar Prasad, Founder-Director, Promorph Solutions, in conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).
What is the Genesis behind establishing EmpowerU?
Onkar Prasad, Founder-Director, Promorph Solution
Promorph solutions, incubated at SIDBI Innovation & Incubation Centre (SIIC), IIT Kanpur, came into existence in 2015. The start-up is funded and backed by VILLGRO Innovations Foundation in association with Technology Development Board (TDB), Government of India and Department for International Development (DFID), UK.
Promorph solutions developed an application integrated with data to offer real-time analysis. In the beginning, it was a web-based model that gave the comprehensive and real-time view of sessions in the classrooms.
For the first time, a customised information management application – EmpowerU was introduced at UIET, CSJM University Kanpur. it improved quality standards, transparency, and accountability in education delivery at the institute. Then, we realised that the model can also be used in the government schools benefitting lakhs of students. It affected many stakeholders in the education system positively and improved the standards of government schools with the help of real-time monitoring and evaluation, SMART and Intelligence Systems, and Analytical solutions.
Please describe about the solutions developed by EmpowerU to redefine the ways educational institutions are managed.
EmpowerU facilitates real-time monitoring, and analysis of multiple operations in Government schools. It is a one-stop shop that integrates Mobile App for Ground Level Monitoring and Analytics for Data-Driven Decision Making. The mobile application works online and offline as well. The holistic, intelligent, and SMART solutions that unfold from the platform are:
Mid Day Meal (MDM) Monitoring: It allows better transparency in fund management, fund analysis, ensures fund availability and helps in pictorial and real-time MDM monitoring and analysis.
Teacher and Student Attendance Tracking: Online and Offline attendance marking with the help of GPS tracking generates weekly, monthly, and yearly reports.
Monitoring Learning and Infrastructural Status: Real-time and pictorial monitoring to ensure the availability of resources in the schools and also timely syllabus completion.
Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation: Conducts student learning level assessment and progress analysis to improve the learning outcomes.
SMART Action Response system (SARS): SARS automatically addresses large-scale issues and notifies malpractices to the headmasters and teachers.
Leave Management: Facilities leave application for various stakeholders through the web and mobile applications.
Grievance Redressal System: Enables an interface between various stakeholders to improve efficiency, transparency and accountability of the system.
Notification and Messaging System: Facilities mobile app-based notifications and SMS alerts to all stakeholders.
How the organisation help the institutions in addressing bottlenecks to impart quality education to its students?
EmpowerU provides various solutions that assist institutions in addressing complex issues with real-time analysis and evaluation to impart quality education. It is developed and implemented on Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) framework after a thorough research on users from ground level to top-level decision makers. It helps in addressing real-time challenges in government schools of India.
It performs real-time Monitoring and Evaluation of each of the thousands of schools in a State using mobile application enabled with Geofencing which works even in rural schools lacking internet connectivity.
The Analytical Web Dashboard provides instant Analysis and Data-Driven Decision Making through Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s).
EmpowerU is currently implemented in 5,500 schools of Giridih and Kandhamal Districts resulting into improving the attendance of teachers from around 58 per cent to more than 90 per cent. Mid Day Meal (MDM) serving also improved from around 75 per cent to more than 90 per cent. Around 6,000 teachers and approximately 1,20,000 students are monitored every day.
Promorph solutions developed an application integrated with data to offer realtime analysis. In the beginning, it was a webbased model that gave the comprehensive and real-time view of sessions in the classrooms.
Most of your clients are government institutions, what are the major challenges in dealing with them?
Despite several schemes to improve technology usage in the country, the idea of using technology and analytics to solve societal problems is not acceptable to everyone. Official and administrators tend to address complex challenges through human intervention, organising trainings and making strict laws. But, such steps are not effective. Successful execution of schemes and policies requires proper monitoring at ground level which can be easily done through technology.
Another challenge that we come across is not getting the correct data for projects we intend to do. The major reason behind this can be the traditional practices of data collection. As data plays a critical role for any project, we do baseline surveys on our own.
How are the challenges addressed by EmpowerU?
EmpowerU aims to redefine the ways educational institutes are managed. The solution facilitates monitoring and analysis of different facets of institutes’ operations. The analytical capabilities generate insights and supports Data Driven Decision Making for achieving Good Governance, Quality Education, Cost Effective Operations, Efficient Time Utilisation and Revenue Generation. It also provides inbuilt intelligence system that automatically detects issues and takes smart action. The contemporary products in education domain especially automation solutions failed to address above mentioned issues critical to an educational institute.
Please describe about the vision and mission of EmpowerU for upcoming years.
The Vision of EmpowerU is to expand the solutions to all the government schools in the districts of various States like Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Orissa. We are also looking forward to expand across India impacting millions of students. EmpowerU is looking forward to harnessing new age technologies like Artificial intelligence (AI) and Big Data Analytics for creating data architecture, predictive models, and algorithms for educational data mining (EDM). It will help improving the efficiency of education and teaching methodologies. Also, similar technology can be used to address the challenges of other domains like Healthcare & Nutrition, Anganwadi etc. The mission of EmpowerU is to drive social change and aims to impact lives of two million students by 2020.
MVGR College of Engineering strives to become a center par excellence for technical education where aspiring students can be transformed into skilled and well-rounded professionals with strong understanding of fundamentals, says Dr K V L Raju, Principal, MVGR Engineering College, in conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).
What are the innovative ways adopted by MVGR College of Engineering to improve the teaching-learning processes?
Dr K V L Raju, Principal, MVGR Engineering College
The teaching-learning processes have changed a lot from traditional methods. The methodologies are now inclined more towards using the Information Communication Technology (ICT). Being an autonomous college, we have the liberty to adopt project based learning which is one of the major differences we are offering. Nowadays, the learning is no more teacher-centric, it is more student-centred. It is so because whatever we are teaching in the classroom is already available to students in the form of Massive Open Online Course (MOOCs) or other resources on Internet. We are encouraging students to use these resources as it helps in making the classroom environment more engaging and students are also enjoy such type of learning.
How the teachers are encouraged to get trained in latest technologies and to adopt the latest practices?
It is very important for teachers to be equipped with the latest technologies and practices as only then they can encourage students for the same. To remain updated with the latest technologies, we have made policy for teachers 2-3 years back under which they have to do training under a professor of a national or international institute of global repute. Teachers are encouraged to take MOOCs so that later they can encourage their students for the same. Teachers in our institute also undergo industry internship to make the classroom learning more meaningful and industry relevant.
It is important for students to be skilled as per the industry requirements, how MVGR helps its students in acquiring industry relevant skills?
Along with industry visits and internships, we have a strong base of alumni working in various parts of the country and abroad. The alumni are having enriched experience of their respective fields and we help students to see the world through the eyes of our previous students. We leverage the experience of our alumni in getting students hands-on experience in latest technology and tools. We encourage them to adopt the best industry experience. Other than that we have collaborated with various industries for students’ training. Siemens is providing the training to our students in electrical machines. We have a collaborated with organisations like Microsoft, TCS etc. Every department has collaborated with respective industries to skill students as per the industry requirements. Industry collaborations are also helping us to conduct various skill based certification programmes other than the academic programmes.
We have four to five industry ready laboratories not the academic laboratories. The institute is also among the 20 member institutions under Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) for skill training of students.
Education in the Western developed countries are meant for empowerment not for the employment alone. But in case of India, the situation is totally different as the focus is on employment
What methodologies are adopted in your college for better placement of students and to encourage them for entrepreneurship?
The institution believes in holistic development of students. We have sports clubs, cultural clubs, NCC and NSS to encourage students to participate in various activities other than the studies. These co-curricular activities make them more employable. Co-curricular activities which are complimentary to academic learning like workshops, conferences and symposiums shape the students well and encourage them to showcase their classroom learning to the outside world. Each of the department in the institute has a professional club which helps its students to bridge the industry-academia gap. These clubs identify the gap areas among students and suggest measures to bridge them. We conduct classes for aptitude, language and communication for students and also provide them platforms to self assess and later engage themselves in the activities for a better personality.
In last three years, there is a buzz for innovation and start-up and it is good as it will help in generating wealth and employment opportunities to the students. We have an incubation centre which is recognised by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). People from ministries, leading corporate and banks are available for students to support and guide them in their initiatives. Around 90 per cent of the children are interested for jobs but to the rest 10 per cent who are interested for start-up, we guide them and support them in their ventures.
With such a large number of institutions in India, very few are able to make it to the top list of global institutions, what are the improvement areas we need to focus on?
Education in the Western developed countries are meant for empowerment not for the employment alone. But in case of India, the situation is totally different as the focus is on employment. Around two decades ago, the number of institutions India having, was lesser than the demand. But suddenly there is mushrooming of institutions which are affecting the quality of higher education. The situation may stabilise in coming years but currently it is far worse than that of developed countries.
Another reason of degraded higher education quality in India is that the institution and industries work in isolation. Until and unless the two will work together to bridge the gap, it is difficult to bring the education standards at par with the global standards.
