CSTS Project Inspiring Other States Project Stake

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February 5, 2018

A unique project titled Child / Student Tracking System (CSTS), being implemented by the Department of Education (Primary and Secondary), Government of Karnataka, is turning into a model for other States to emulate. This project is designed, developed and implemented by Ahmedabad-based ICT Infracon and totally sponsored by Infosys Foundation. P Panneervel, CEO of ICT Infracon and a retired Additional Chief Secretary of Government of Gujarat, shared the significance of the project and its objectives, in an interview with Elets News Network (ENN).

How and when was the idea of CSTS conceptualised? What is the signicance of the project?

P Panneervel, CEO of ICT Infracon and a retired Additional Chief Secretary of Government of Gujarat

In one of the meetings of IIM, Ahmedabad chaired by the then chairman KV Kamath, a question was asked by former Minister of HRD, Government of India, who was part of the meeting that is it possible to track every child in India? Mr Kamath replied yes, recommending my name as he already knew me that I had implemented several eGovernance projects in the Government of Gujarat and all are working successfully even today. The former Minister, who was happy with the positive reply from Mr Kamath, suggested this project can be supported by Infosys Foundation and the first pilot can be done in Karnataka. That is how the idea of CSTS started two years or more ago. This is a very significant project as it connects every child in the country.

Project Stakeholders
Project Owner	Dept of Education (Primary and Secondary), Govt of Karnataka
Sponsored by	Infosys Foundation, Bengaluru
Implementing Agency	ICT Infracon LLP, Ahmedabad
Project Cost (Approximate)	Rs 5 crore

Right to Education Law has been enacted, but the responsibility to enroll the children who attain the age of five, in the nearest school is left to the parents. The responsibility of enrollment in real sense lies with the State Governments. Despite all the efforts, it is very difficult to ensure 100% enrollment. Dropout rate of India is one of the highest in the world. Perhaps, the CSTS will support the concerned departments in mitigating the challenges faced in dropouts is a handy in not only tracking child but also support the enrollment. The project is also known as District Information System for Education (DISE).

What are the primary objective of the project?

The main objective of the CSTS is to track each and every child in the relevant age group throughout the State through Birth Registration. For example if the goal is to universalize 9 year basic education in the state, the relevant age group children to be tracked in the CSTS is 0-15 considering 6th year as official entry age to grade 1. The CSTS will create a database of all children in the age group of 0-15 years in the state, with the details of each and every child such unique Child Code, his/her name, date of birth, sex, educational status, reason for non-attendance /Out-of- School and data on other related key variables by particular reference period of the year.

The project of Child / Student Tracking System is likely to be an ideal tool for the Government of Karnataka, in implementing Right to Education Law effectively.

Which are the purposes the database of CSTS can be used, if any?

The database generated will enable the state government to identify village/habitation wise children in the relevant age group for enrollment and find out reasons for every out-of-School child in order to design appropriate intervention strategy. Also track academic progress and health records of every child in every school. The database can be used for the following purposes by the concerned authorities.

Dropout rate
Student Performance record/health record
Diagnosing several other aspects of participations and retention of children in basic education
State/District/Taluka/Village Wise Student Tracking
Monitoring the educational status of every child in terms of never enrolled out of school/vocational Institute/higher & technical

How the support system of the project and its modules were developed?

The system is designed to provide support system that enables government institutes to apply appropriate interventions and deploy required resources (asset management) that provide adequate environment to every child to have their preferred line of education for gainful employment. Finally the project at the state level will lead the State to achieve better “human development index”.

The CSTS is equivalent to an Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP system for a corporate firm. Student tracking system (STS) is also a Web-based application designed to introduce a conducive and structured information exchange environment for integrating students, parent, teachers and administration of a school or college.

Implement the centralized web based application which will be hosted at Central Location. The application can be accessed directly through internet and intranet by using a pre-defined web link. The application can also be accessed through a link within any web site/ system already exists or hosted by any Government Department / School / University. In this case, a specific URL will be communicated to the respective University / College so that they can incorporate the link into their web site/system. Following modules will be in the scope of ICT:

Birth Registration/Survey/link between school and village records
Students unique id PIN generation to monitor life time academic mobility
Attendance Monitoring- Dropout-Link to students ID-PIN List – Parents Status
Parent Migration
Infant Health/mortality
Sibling Care
Bring Back dropouts to main stream by special coaching-monitoring
Student Academic Records-Promotion, Awards etc
School Wise Children Enrolled
School Wise Teachers requirement
Asset Management
Student Health Management
List of Students Passed from Primary School/Secondary/Higher Secondary School
Mapping of Primary/Secondary/Higher Secondary Schools
School Wise Enrollment Data
Actual requirement of the Primary/Secondary/Higher Secondary School
Mapping of Technical Institute as per government norms
Child Labor Abolition
Developing MIS and analytics for monitoring the usage and other administrative purposes

What is the current status of the project?

The project has been rolled out all over the State. The system has been installed in State Data Center. Data migration for the year 2014-15 and 2015-16 has been done. Complete data base by name for more than 1 crore children has been created. For the new academic year commencing from June 2016 enrollment in the whole state has been done. All promotions, transfer certificates, academic records and other verifications will be only through this system. The system is designed developed with Women and Child Welfare department to track 0 to 5 yrs. From the academic year 2017-18, the children will be enrolled from Anganwadi to Primary School (First standard). This system will monitor the student welfare schemes, asset management of schools, scheme implementations, attendance etc, online. This system is also linked with Aadhaar.

The project is now a successful. To whom do you give credit to?

The CSTS is successful because of the valuable inputs and support and cooperation of following officers, including Ajay Seth, IAS, then Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Education (Primary and Secondary), Government of Karnataka, PC Jaffer, IAS, then State Project Officer of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Purushottam Kumar Rao of
the Department.

The Millennium School – Making Learning A Meaningful Experience

By

Akash

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February 5, 2018

The Millennium School has a holistic system, including that of assessment of students learning in multiple ways. It has been created to serve as a healthy combination of formative and summative assessments and also for the physical and emotional readiness of the child to learn, says Rita Kaul, Director, The Millennium Schools, in conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).

How the practices followed at The Millennium School nurture each student’s inherent potential and talent?

Rita Kaul, Director, The Millennium Schools

The Millennium Learning System is designed to ensure that children get ample opportunities to discover their inherent capabilities and talents and hone them. The skill-based learning activities and the child-friendly and versatile assessment activities allow children to demonstrate their learning in a variety of presentation styles – through role plays, through making models, posters, through making oral presentations, or through puzzles and games. All these help children to discover their latent natural skills, but also to apply them to learn better.

What is Millennium Learning System all about?
The Millennium Learning System is a multifaceted learning system that is based on the principles such as:

Skill Based – Students during the course of learning build subject specific skills and thus they acquire a thorough understanding and mastery of concepts
Sequential – The teachers guide the students to construct their learning sequentially as they move from the known to the unknown
VAK based – In MLS we believe that children learn best when they are exposed to learning in their learning style (Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic). MLS ensures that children are taught according to their learning style
Mapped to Developmental Milestones – We understand that children at different age groups have different learning needs and capabilities and hence our curriculum approach is mapped as per the age of the child. For our pre-primary learners we follow the play way approach, for the primary learners we have an activity and project-based learning methodology, to challenge our middle-school learners and to harness their developing cognitive capabilities, we follow the brain-based methodology and for the senior school learners the methodology evolves around developing higher order thinking and decision- making skills.

The mission of The Millennium School is to nurture a culture where students are valued as individuals and allowed to explore their creative talents.

How important is research and development to boost learning among students?

In order to be relevant, classrooms must meet the future needs of the students and must prepare them for the world of tomorrow. Hence, the traditional approach to teach may not be always the best suited. An active Research and Development team that keeps adding to teachers’ repertoire of teaching tools and strategies to suit the learning needs of children will make sure that children are equipped to face the future with the requisite skills and knowledge. Along with imparting knowledge, it is very important to assess the learning of students.

What assessment methods are followed at Millenium School?

Assessment System at The Millennium School is a holistic system that assesses the students’ learning in multiple ways. It is a healthy combination of formative and summative assessments and also of the physical and emotional readiness of the child for learning. The system also is diagnostic and with an integrated remediation and performance enhancement programme to help children to excel and reach their learning potential. The focus in The Millennium Schools is on learning and its application and in helping children to realise their potential and not just on scoring and ranking.

What is vision and mission of the school for future?

The Millennium School is committed to nurture the inherent potential and talent of each child, creating lifelong learners who will be the leaders of tomorrow. With parents as our partners, we aspire to create global citizens who are innovative and have a strong sense of values.

Mission: The mission of The Millennium School is to nurture a culture where students are valued as individuals and allowed to explore their creative talents. We believe that the positive self concept is benefited through academic success and it is our goal to keep raising the bar .We move forward with skills and confidence to be successful in our highly competitive society. Our school environment has been created with the focus on “Show the pride in everything you do”. With parents as partners we have followed a positive direction.

MD International School providing value based education

By

Akash

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February 4, 2018

MD International School, Bijnor was established in 2014 by Manorama Devi Memorial Charitable Trust whereas Mr S K Jain as founder Chairman and Mr Navneet Jain as Secretary played a pivotal role.

Mission of the school is to provide comprehensive education for holistic development of individual personality with a human touch and visionary outlook and to provide an atmosphere where every child finds itself comfortable to unlock its talent and develop an inquisitor mind.

MDIS is the signature statement of an education concept that takes a life time to evolve. It is a fairy tale translation and prudent synthesis of innumerable views of the elite thinker of contemporary school education.

Under the aegis of Manorama Devi Memorial Charitable Trust, MD International School, Bijnor is positioned to be regarded as a Centre of Educational Excellence. The MD philosophy is based on a set of strongly held beliefs which are put into action everyday by every member of the institution. Life at MDIS centers on a shared commitment to academic excellence, intellectual growth, art, athletics, and high standard of ethical awareness, sportsmanship, and community service.

The school’s transitions and accessibility to a broad curriculum add path to each student’s life.. The goal of MDIS is to inculcate in the students a love for learning and a desire to excel at every level. School has a team of well trained 100 staff members. The teachers under the direction of Principal Mrs Ritu Kochhar are motivating and caring individuals who are committed to helping the students reach their full potential across all key learning areas. The school is providing all sorts of opportunities and grounds and equipments for students to participate in co-curricular and extracurricular activities.

MDIS is a co-educational (day) Senior Secondary School affiliated with the CBSE board and focusing on improving the quality of education in Bijnor through innovation and achieving excellence. School has also worked on ISA activities for developing international harmony and cooperation among students for accreditation from British council. Skype sessions with students of many countries are a regular feature of the school.

MD International is the first school in North India to come up with Robotics lab for the students to learn through latest technologies.

The school is committed to provide state of art infrastructure, vigorous out-door life, vibrant campus and free access to technologies in vogue. The school is assuring a rewarding future, modern Gurukul life, secularism, impartial judgement and an ideal blend of tradition and modernity.

M.D. International School has been awarded for two consecutive years (2016-2017) as Rank Award. No. 1 School in Bijnor and has also made it to Top 50 schools of U.P by Education World
The school has been recognized as the ‘Top School of Bijnor by ‘Digital Learning’ 2017
The school got School excellence award 2017 and has been recognized as ‘Best in Sports Education’ and ‘Emergent School’ by Brainfeed’ among Top Uttar Pradesh schools
M.D International School has received “Global Sustainable School Award – 2017”
School director Mr. Navneet Jain, Principal and Co-ordinator (Pre primary) have been awarded by “Sikshak Sri Award” by Antrashtriya Samrasta Manch, 2017
School Director Mr. Navneet Jain has been awarded with “India’s Highly Effective Edupreneurs Award 2017″
S K Jain, the Chairman, has been awarded in the Category “Education” as “India’s Most Influential Education Brands 2016- 2017” by Asia One
School has been successfully awarded the British Council “International School Award” for the period 2017-2020

Special Features of School:

Excellent Infrastructure and Clean green campus
Modern security and safety( through CCTV cameras and restricted entry and armed security personals)
High standard of hygiene and health facilities
Potable RO filtered drinking water
Wi-Fi enabled 4 Mbps internet access campus
Use of ICT in teaching learning process, having smart boards
Specialised dance, art & craft rooms
Language lab to remove pronunciation related problems
Well equipped labs (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Computer, Geography, Maths, Home science Language Lab)
Auditorium with 250 seating capacity
Well furnished Indoor Gymnasium
Badminton Academy with wooden flooring
A large multipurpose ground for skating, volley ball, football, cricket, Yoga and aerobics
Electromagnetic Shooting Range with modern equipment
Cafeteria and eatery for providing healthy food items
Counselling room
100% power and water back up
Health and wellness centre to take care of minor health issues and medical guidance
Teachers’ Residential Accommodation facility in the campus

Instilling a high fidelity culture of self learning

By

Akash

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February 4, 2018

The world is changing fast, very fast, industry leaders couldn’t predict their own demise. Be it Nokia, Kodak, print media, or brick and mortar retail in developed countries.

Most of “white collar jobs” that need linear thinking are being replaced by automation and AI. We are seeing this in legal, medical, and financial industries in the western world. In India, software and BPO industries are getting affected. Not companies but industries will go extinct.

In India, the problem compounds. A matriculate 40-50 years ago was wise and empowered. Now, even graduates are commodities. We are hence seeing an “education inflation”. Companies that recruited graduates some years ago are now open only to PhDs.

We saw all these first-hand coming from software and telecom industry. As concerned parents, we set to answer this i.e. “how do we get our kids future ready?” After years of experimentation, we came with 3 basic habits to get FutureReady.

Self-learning: You would have heard “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for life”. With us, it is, “Teach a student, he learns a topic; enable him to self-learn and he can learn anything”. With this skill, as the future keeps changing, he can keep self-learning.

Bricolage: This is the antithesis of linear thinking. Students learn by trying, testing and playing around. This inculcates creativity and non-linear thinking. This is hands-on. This increases retention and faster recall of what they learn. Creativity is hard yet for AI or Automation to replace.

Collaboration: Self-learning and Bricolage are more effective when students collaborate. It makes learning fun. Also, in future, open systems will be the norm. Not hierarchical. This is a key culture to master.

At FutureReadyKids, we help schools integrate these skills into their “project-based homework” process. This is seamless and requires zero change in their processes, systems, and timetables. There are no kits nor resource personnel. Students learn and do 100% at their homes. It also simplifies the project based assignment process.

Further, students who excel in these projects join our “young inventors program”. Here, our students, have invented products, patenting and selling them on Amazon.in and Snapdeal.com.

We help schools simplify and make “project-based assignments” effective. Students imbibe an indelible culture that empowers and gets them future ready.

Edgefx: Boosting Innovation Among Kids through DIY Kits

By

Akash

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February 4, 2018

Idea concept with row of light bulbs and glowing bulb

Edgefx designs unique, powerful and innovative Science, Technology, Engineering Maths (STEM), Do It Yourself (DIY) educational kits in wide areas of Electronics, Electrical, Embedded and Communication. The kits, which introduce students over 8 years to engineering world, are being sold to over 40 countries worldwide including the US and the UK.

Our Purpose: Empowering every student to innovate is why Edgefx exists.

Methodology-Design Thinking: Our experiential understanding of over 18 years about the needs and wants of the students has helped us immensely to incorporate design thinking in building our products. Our Product lines include:

Edgefx DIY Project Kit for Engineering and Diploma students

Over 20 million students globally pursue technical courses including engineering wherein it is mandatory for students to complete a project to have practical exposure as per university guidelines. Lack of trained technical manpower, outdated syllabus, and absence of practical lab facilities has made “Edgefx DIY Project Kits for Higher Education” a popular product among students.

Edgefx boasts of a range of over 400 end-toend different project solutions in more than 40 different categories.

Edgefx STEM Kits for students from 8 years onwards

STEM is a revolution in the education system worldwide. Edgefx STEM Kits are based on electronic building blocks, designed for ease of use and to feed the curiosity of young minds. Edgefx STEM Kits include real time projects with fun-filled activities and experiments and are also mapped to the curriculum.

Pearson: Celebrating 20 years in India

By

Akash

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February 3, 2018

Pearson is world’s learning company, with expertise in educational courseware and assessment, and a range of teaching and learning services powered by technology. Our mission is to help people make progress in their lives through learning – because we believe that learning opens up opportunities, creating fulfilling careers and better lives. Our products are researched, expertly developed and continually improved to ensure that they deliver the best possible learner outcome that enable learners around the world to make progress in their lives. Our focus has always been on digital programmes and learning and we continue to deliver technology enabled products that are accessible and flexible for learners.

In the last 20 years, Pearson has come a long way. We have achieved feats that no other education organisation in India has and we will continue to strive for excellence in the coming years. From the beginning, we had a vision to think differently, while keeping learners at the center of everything we do. With our personalized approach and superior content, 173 years of global lineage and 20 years of rich experience and path breaking ideas in the Indian education space, we are reaching out to schools, institutions and learners and helping build an India that is future-ready!

Building culture of innovations

We as the largest education company in the world, offer solutions across the spectrum that leverage technology for better education. With our award winning integrated learning eco-system MyPedia, Pearson has stepped in to redefine learning. Being a pioneer in the education industry, we understand that today every child learns differently and every teacher teaches differently. Therefore, we set out to introduce an integrated learning ecosystem that unlocks the potential of the learner, the teacher and the school and delivers measurable outcomes for all – and that is how the genesis of MyPedia came about. MyPedia programme facilitates enhanced, effective and measurable learning to bring out the geniuses from within. It brings to every classroom a process-based learning which integrates all teaching tools – publishing, assessment and digital. Now after having two patents filed – one in India and one globally – MyPedia is now reaching out to students in the Middle East, China, Brazil, and South Africa as a teaching and learning solution that is way ahead of its time providing tangible learning and teaching outcomes.

Creating talent pool

We truly believe in our people and their power to create a positive change in learning. It is by both demonstrating and broadcasting this value that we attract the brightest people with the most curious minds to join us in our journey to stimulate learning like never. Our endeavour is to encourage our people to do brave and ingenious work, while collaborating with passionate and supportive colleagues in a company that is committed to its core values of being brave, decent, imaginative and accountable.

Efficacy

Pearson’s purpose is to help people make progress in their lives through learning. We want to measure the progress that our products and services enable people to make in terms of improving learning outcomes. We have developed methods to ensure that the ‘Efficacy’ of what Pearson does is looked at and measured in a consistent way. This includes the efficacy framework we are committed to, by reporting audited learning outcomes and targets alongside its financial accounts, covering its whole business by 2018.

Cambridge Montessori: Fostering love for learning among children

Article

By

Akash

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February 3, 2018

Cambridge Montessori Preschool, is poised to create a learning environment for the tiny tots, which is based on internationally renowned Montessori. The school develops an excellent Montessori curriculum sourced and researched from across the globe and delivered with the help of operational centers in Asia. Cambridge Montessori Preschool focus on the pivotal early grade for children from 12 months to 6 years.

The school provides the academically challenging curriculum with flexibility to meet the needs of individual children in these critical early years. The focus on teaching children in unique manner with the help of Montessori material establish strong foundation in reading, composition, mathematical skills and encourages individual creative expression and thus kids become independent learners at the early age of 3/5 years.

It helps them instill independent learning, creative thinking, and excellent communication skills and further arm them to succeed in tomorrow’s world. Cognitive approach in a progressive way with the help of Montessori teaching materials thus enhancing gross motor skills, sensory development, hand eye coordination and adaptation to the changing environment in their sensitive period of conscious as well as sub conscious phase of their absorbent mind.

Also Read: Cambridge Montessori Preschool: Leading way for affordable franchise model in India & abroad

At Cambridge Montessori PreSchool, children have the freedom to choose their own activities. Children become enthusiastic learners and develop self-discipline. The Cambridge Montessori PreSchool environment is a nurturing place for children. It is designed to meet the child’s need for self-construction. The environment is responsive to the ever changing needs of the growing child. They become expressive through art/ craft and drama. The child’s self-esteem is central to our education.

School Leadership Summits’ Legacy: Recognising the Finest Practices and Minds

By

Akash

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February 3, 2018

Looking at the potential of Information and communications technology (ICT) in making a significant and positive impact on education, it is vital to understand a forum that serves as the knowledge-sharing platform for thought leaders, edu-experts and industry leaders – the School Leadership Summit (SLS).

Over the years digitalLEARNING through the School Leadership Summits has congregated various education stakeholders to deliberate on finest practices and innovations empowered by technological interventions. The objective of these summits is also to facilitate the top schools of India on the basis of their exemplary work in the field of school education. Let’s have a glance at the School Leadership Summits’ legacy:

5th Elets School Leadership Summit:

In today’s digital era, technology is needed in every sector of education. Now, schools are embracing technology and innovation to prepare for the future of learning. New technology is more integrated into the classroom than ever as educators and industry experts believe that both students and teachers can benefit from it and help in building a robust digital future. We all agree on the potential of ICT to have a significant and positive impact on education.

Elets Technomedia Pvt Ltd, the premier technology and media research organisation of Asia and the Middle East, is organising the 5th School Leadership Summit on 12 January, 2018, in Bengaluru with the vision to connect educators, policymakers, industry leaders and key stakeholders to share new ideas, best practices, latest trends with each other.

This would thereby be an apt platform pitching and professing the new technological advances in school education.

4th digitalLEARNING School Leadership Summit 2017

The 4th digitalLearning School Leadership Summit 2017 acted as a forum of knowledge sharing among the thought leaders, education experts & industry leaders. The summit was organised for various education stakeholder to deliberate on finest practices and innovations empowered by technological interventions. The conference was meant to achieve objectives of Educating, Encouraging, and Enlightening.

The summit was intended to deliberate and initiate a dialogue on the changing paradigms around the emerging themes of Learning Outcomes, Outreach and Access, Vocationalisation, Examination Systems, Teacher Education, ICT Interventions for New Knowledge, Pedagogies and approaches for STEM education, Standards, Assessments and School Management systems, Learning Platforms for Differently Abled, Language Learning and Ensuring the Comprehensiveness of Education and Child health.

3rd digitalLEARNING School Leadership Summit 2016

The 3rd digitalLEARNING School Leadership Summit 2016 intended to deliberate and initiate a dialogue on the changing paradigms around the emerging themes of Learning Outcomes, Outreach and Access, Vocationalisation, Examination Systems, Teacher Education, ICT Interventions for New Knowledge, Pedagogies and approaches for STEM education, Standards, Assessments and School Management systems, Learning Platforms for Differently Abled and Language Learning and Ensuring the Comprehensiveness of Education and Child health.

The objective of the summit was to find out the answers to the questions like how to evaluate the technology outcome implemented in schools, how to initiate critical thinking and what is personalised learning.

2nd digitalLEARNING School Leadership Summit 2015

The digitalLEARNING School Leadership Summit 2015 was organised to understand the vision of teachers for ensuring better future for children. Another important objective of the summit was to identify the role of technology in creating excellence in school education. Technology has changed the whole scenario in school education. Many schools have already started using technological advancements like smart boards for making the education, entertaining and easy. Now, information is just a click away.

Impact of globalisation on schools, need for visionary schools in present scenario and Life Skill Education were among the important themes of the Summit.

1st digitalLEARNING School Leadership Summit 2014

The digitalLEARNING School Leadership Summit 2014 was made up of four key sessions led by renowned educational leadership researchers. It covered many different and important aspects of educational leadership in the 21st Century. The different sessions were designed to cater to various stake holders involved in education at different levels. Principals of around 200 top schools of India participated in School Leadership Summit 2014. The delegates comprised many school leaders, educators and researchers from Secondary and Senior Secondary Schools. It was meant understand the challenges of educational transformation and why they persisted over time.

Flash Back 2017: Digital Learning Revisits Innovations in Education

By

Akash

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February 2, 2018

The 2017 has been an eventful year for the education sector, as the Governments have been infusing a variety of things through innovations in the education sector to make it more relevant for the student fraternity in the contemporary world.

Having played role of a lighthouse on the key developments, the digitalLearning magazine brings to you a flashback of the year gone as captured and observed through each of our monthly issues.

It is pertinent to mention this magazine also played a key role in bringing together world’s eduleaders at one platform through its print and web edition along with the premeir knowledge conferences. Let’s have a glance at the highlights of our different issues and conferences as observed by Elets News Network (ENN).

January Issue: KALOREX Nurturing 21st Century Learners

The first issue of January 2017 showcased the best education practices and teaching methodologies followed by Kalorex schools for the holistic development of its students. “The motive of Kalorex is to develop global learners equipped with 21st century learning skills,” stated Manjula Pooja Shroff, MD & CEO, Kalorex Group, in the cover interview. She explained their strategies and methodologies. She also threw light on the various philanthropic activities of the group. The interview also comprises the details of awards won by the group for its best educational practices and philanthropic work.

February-March Issue: Rediscovering Bahrain

This was a special issue which revolved around World Education Summit (WES) 2017 Bahrain and recognised the global education ecosystem’s best practices. The summit was inaugurated by H E Dr Majid Bin Ali Al-Nuaimi, Minister of Education, Kingdom of Bahrain. The cover story of the February and March 2017 issue covered the improvements in formal education sector of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region. Governments across the region have invested heavily in the education sector and over the past 25 years witnessed a rapid expansion in primary, secondary and tertiary education. Despite all the development in the education space, the region has a lot of scope to grow in terms of bridging the gap between skill development and job market.

April Issue: Private Engineering Colleges Ranking and Annual Resource Guide

Finding out the most suitable institute or college as per one’s academic prowess and financial means most often proves a Herculean task, especially in engineering stream. Considering the complications of zeroing-in on the most suitable option, we decided to devote our Digital Learning magazine’s April issue to “State-wise Ranking of Private Engineering Institutes and Colleges -2017”, conducted by a perception-based methodology by a jury involving experts.

In addition, our cover story – “Annual Resource Guide: Sourcing Educational Prerequisites” – was a step towards furthering Digital Learning legacy providing better insights, enabling consumers to take an informed decision.

The issue also comprised the glimpses of “elets 8th World Education Summit Bahrain 2017” that witnessed a grand congregation of leading speakers and hundreds of delegates from as many as 12 countries from across the world.

May-June Issue: Transforming School Education Practices Trough Innovation

With a large number of schools adopting finest teaching-learning practices from across the world, our May-June issue tried to find out the practices that are improving and enriching educational experiences in the Indian schools through the cover story “Rehashing School Education Practices through Innovation”.

Through our three special stories “Ensuring Holistic Development of Children”, “ICT in Higher Education Taking Learning Process to the Next Level”, and “Sports-Key to Character Building of Schoolchildren”, the magazine attempted to touch upon some latent dimensions of the existing education scenario of the country.

Another prominent interview was of Prof Anil D Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, AICTE, who talked about the council’s various steps undertaken to improve technical and higher education in the country.

July-August Issue: Rajasthan Higher Education Souvenir

The July-August issue of Digital Learning magazine was published in association with Department of Higher and Technical Education, Government of Rajasthan. The Souvenir carried a number of prominent and distinguished who’s who of Rajasthan whose presence has brought remarkable changes in the Rajasthan education system.

An important feature of this issue of the magazine was congratulatory messages from the President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar, Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh and Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.

With Rajasthan, one of most vibrant and progressive States of the country, focusing on its education sector in a big way, the Digital Learning magazine’s Cover Story — Rajasthan Higher Education Embracing Change for New Era of Opportunities — highlighted the growing charm for higher education among youngsters as an important prerequisite to grab highly rewarding jobs.

WES Delhi Special Issue

In this issue, we highlighted how a growing role of innovation and technology in education sector is becoming too overwhelming for members of any progressive society to ignore it. We stated how it is serving as a useful tool to help our schools, colleges and universities deliver the information and knowledge effectively.

Our cover story — WES Legacy: Bringing the Brightest Minds Together — was an attempt to explain and revisit the World Education Summit over the years and celebrate its 10th edition.

This special issue also contained insightful interviews of Kiran Maheshwari, Minister of Higher Education, Government of Rajasthan; Anil Swarup, Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development and Ashok Jain, Chief Secretary, Government of Rajasthan among others.

September Issue: India’s Top Preschool Ranking

In the light of rapid growth of the preschool segment, the September issue of the magazine came up with India’s Top Preschools’ ranking for the second time.

Through “India’s Top Preschool Ranking 2017”, we endeavoured to explore various dimensions of the preschool segment. This year’s ranking was also intended to create an integrated and comprehensive database of diverse, high quality early childhood education and care services.

Our special interview on Sanfort — a pioneer partner of “Trinity College London” — was about bridging the learning gap in the early years of learning. The brand has around 150 preschools in 22 States of India and two abroad.

October Issue (Part I): Nurturing innovation encouraging Startups: The Gujarat Way

In the wake of a large number of highly impressive thesis and innovative ideas emerging every year, the cover story of our magazine’s October issue explored how the Student Startup and Innovation Policy (SSIP) transformed these innovations into new products and services.

A Hackathon Report also featured in this issue which showcased how a group of people recently tried to solve public problems through intellectual prowess away from any discrimination.

We also tried to explore the perspective of various distinguished stakeholders including Anju Sharma, Principal Secretary, Higher and Technical Education, Government of Gujarat, Prof Anil D Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) and K K Nirala as Director of Technical Education, Gandhinagar and others.

October Issue (Special Issue): Top Schools of India Ranking 2017

This issue published the Top School Ranking-2017, a concise list of the best of schools across India which have been ranked in order of their performance on six parameters handpicked carefully. The benchmarks achieved by the schools in our ranking was done separately for five zones – North, South, West, East and Central.

When choosing a school, security of the campus is high on the priority list of most parents given the rising number of violent incidents against students. Our cover story, ‘Are Schools Safe for Children?’ in this issu, highlighted the various aspects of security at schools, and the measures that can be taken by the management to check the incidents of violence against the innocent kids.

November issue: Happy Education: Dubai Inspires the World

As the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has embarked on a unique journey not many countries have treaded in the world, it’s steadfastly acquiring a distinction of being a global education hub with a difference. We endeavoured to highlight how the UAE’s new policies are focused on giving back to the world by making happiness and well-being the focal point of everything they do to improve quality of the education through the November Issue.

Our cover story in this issue, “Happy Education: Dubai Inspires the World”, explored the three key pillars of the UAE’s ‘Year of Giving’ – Corporate Social Responsibility, Volunteering, and Serving the Nation – to develop a knowledge-based economy as the best in the world.

December Issue: Rajasthan BuildingHigher Education Capital with Higher Education

Rajasthan is among the top states in India in terms of number of institutions of higher learning. Given the high number of graduates and post-graduate students being churned out of these colleges and universities, providing meaningful employment through industry-academia partnership is of utmost priority for the State.

Our cover story “Rajasthan Govt All Set to Bridge Students-Industry Gulf” in this special Higher Education and Human Resource Conclave, Rajasthan issue covered various initiatives and achievements of the Government of Rajasthan in facilitating direct employment of students.

This issue also carried the B-School Ranking to help aspiring students to choose the right B-school for their education. The Top B-school Ranking 2017, being published for a second time, is a perception based ranking of over 300 B-schools in the country under various parameters.

Union Budget 2018 – 19: Edu-experts’ reactions

News

By

Akash

-

February 2, 2018

The Union Budget of 2018-19 presented by Finance minister Arun Jaitley is focussed on education along with agriculture and healthcare for the poor. Jaitley announced a new funding scheme for infrastructural development in Centrally Funded Institutions (CFIs) and Universities. Setting up 24 new government medical colleges and “Eklavya” schools in tribal areas of the country are the other important highlights of the Budget 2018.

The education industry has welcomed the Union Budget 2018-19 and few are calling it a holistic budget. In its laudable move, the government is emphasising more on teachers’ training and allocated one lakh crore for educational research.

Here are reactions to the Union Budget 2018-19 from education people belonging to education sector:

Utpal Ghosh, CEO and President, UPES Dehradun:

“The budget has a strong focus on emerging technologies and the education sector. Machine learning, artificial intelligence, robotics, big data, quantum communication etc. are going to drive future jobs and hence a national programme catering to these disciplines is a welcome initiative. District Wise Strategy to improve the quality of education and achieving standard learning outcomes based on the results of the National Achievement Survey is a path-breaking announcement. New medical colleges, planning & architecture schools and a special railway university are steps in the right direction.”

Professor C Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor, O P Jindal University:

“The initiative – Revitalizing of Infrastructure and Systems in Education (RISE) by 2022 with a total investment of one lakh crore in the next four years is to be lauded as it definitely portrays the importance and prioritization of education in this country. Similarly, with emphasis being laid on digitization sector, the benefits will reach the needy students.”

Sivaramakrishnan V, Managing Director, Oxford University Press India:

“Integrated Education is a worthy mention in the budget and we hope that it leads to a teaching-learning process that combines print, digital, assessments and teacher training. The focus on teacher training continues from last year’s budget announcement and it exemplifies the renewed focus on this noble profession given that teachers are the principle pivot in the learning eco-system.”

Beas Dev Ralhan, CEO and Co-founder, Next Education:

“The Union Budget 2018–19 looks promising for the education sector. The government has earmarked Rs 1 lakh crore for a new scheme called Revitalising Infrastructure in School Education (RISE) fulfilling his promise of developing infrastructure in schools. The government has also realised the importance of improving the quality of teachers to enhance the quality of education in our country.”

Vijay Thadani, VC and MD, NIIT Ltd:

“It is a progressive budget with the right emphasis on training of teachers, use of technology and funding for research. Increase in digital intensity in education and envisaging move from ‘‘black board’’ to ‘‘digital board’’; using technology to upgrade the skills of teachers through a digital portal “Diksha”; national program on artificial intelligence under the aegis of Niti Aayog; mission on Cyber Physical Systems and a test bed for 5G technology at IIT Chennai were among the other encouraging initiatives.”

Vandana Arora, Principal of Nahar International School:

“We are glad that the 2018 Budget has a forward looking vision with benefits for the sectors that needit the most. As announced, specifically for the education sector, having an integrated B.Ed. programme, with teacher-training as its main focus, will boost the workforce towards being more aware and skilled. I am glad to hear that Rs. 1 lakh crore are to be invested over the next 4 years into a new drive to boost Research and Development.”

Zishaan Hayath, CEO & Co-founder, Toppr.com:

“Capitalising on digital influence for quality education is a welcome move. We sincerely believe that technology has a very important role in education and we are glad that the government aligns with it. Education is critical to the future of India and any relaxations in taxes on education and technology would have been an added benefit. Recognising the importance of teacher training is another significant step to boost quality education in the country. We eagerly await the details and plan of action from the government following the announcements.”

Minal Anand, Founder and CEO, GuruQ:

“The 2018 budget will provide an important thrust for established firms as well as start-ups in the ed-tech sector. Mr. Jaitley’s increased emphasis on digital forms, over traditional forms of learning, is a major boon for the industry. This paradigm shift will increase literacy rates, across the country, ensuring that quality education is available for all. This budget’s focus is on higher quality of teacher training and development which aims at equipping educators with latest teaching techniques, skill training and content.”

Venguswamy Ramaswamy, Global Head, TCS iON:

“The Government in the budget has clearly acknowledged the need to improve the quality and scale of education across the country, through a continued digital push. A significant population within India has been deprived of access to quality education and infrastructure in the past and the Government’s introduction of Eklavya schools for tribal children will help bring them into the ambit of the formal education model and empower them to explore a bright future. The Ministry’s announcement on giving formal training to teachers through the recently launched ‘DIKSHA’, will definitely boost the quality of teachers, a key pivot to improve the quality of education.

Rohit Manglik,CEO, EduGorilla:

“The Union Budget (2018), which has showcased government’s plan to transform India’s educational scenario by leveraging technology in education is commendable. The 1-day registration of a company will surely provide a boost to startups. The re-skilling of teachers through the portal Diksha will not only improve the quality of education but will be a game changer for the entire education ecosystem.”

Ashish P Dhakan, MD & CEO, Prama Hikvision India Pvt Ltd:

India’s overall allocation to the education sector in the last decade has hovered between 3.5-4 per cent of total expenditure. Last year, the figure was 3.7 per cent. The government proposed to launch ‘Revitalising Infrastructure and Systems in Education (RISE) by 2022’ with a total investment of Rs 1 lakh crore in next four years, to step up investments in research and related infrastructure in premier educational institutions, including health institutions. A modest 3.84 per cent increase compared to last year can be seen in the education sector allotment. This is a positive development for the security industry.

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