The Tamil Nadu Government will introduce smart card system in its school for attendance purpose.
The introduction of these smart cards, the school authority, as well as the parents, can verify student’s attendance, according to the Tamil Nadu Education Minister K A Sengottiyan.
“A chip would be attached in the smart card which when examined show the attendance of students in the school. With this, the parents could verify if their children were attending the school,” Education Minister K A Sengottiyan said.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s digital economy drive, the CBSE has asked its affiliated schools to collect the fee online or in cashless mode from January 2018.
Also, in July this year, the Government Higher Primary School at Hale Kesare village became the first state school in Mysuru district to use a mobile app for reporting attendance.
CBSE secretary Joseph Emmanuel said that the benefits of cashless transactions are huge and the had brought e-payment facilities for collection of examination fee, affiliation and various activities including payments to its examination functionaries.
Three institutes as reported by Indian Express, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Bombay Scottish School, and Jamnabai Narsee School have already introduced the smart cards. According to the report, the students can not only mark their attendance but get access to restricted areas and pay for canteen meals as well with this multi purpose smart card.
Illustration depicting a highway gantry sign with a new skills and training concept. Blue sky background.
The Bari Brahmana Industrial Association has signed an MoU with Orion Edutech for providing skilled manpower in the fields of foods and beverages, banking and finance, retail sales etc in the state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
The association is at Bari Brahmana industrial area, Jammu, has signed the MoU to provide trained manpower to industries.
State Industries and Commerce Minister, Government of Jammu, Chander Parkash Ganga was also present during the signing of MoU. He said, “such initiative is bound to promote and enhance skill development throughout the state”.
According to him, local companies, contribution towards Skill India Mission and employability options for local youth must be encouraged. He also asked officials for bridging the gap between industrial requirements and available employee skill sets.
Kerala’s government schools through a two-day camp next month, are going to teach 60,000 high school students in animation, electronics, hardware, cyber-safety and Malayalam computing.
Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE), on September 7-10, will organise the ‘Hi School Kuttikootam’ programme at 1,531 centres across the state to empower the students in these fields by giving them regular training.
“Hi-School Kuttikkootam has indeed become the largest student network of its kind in ICT in India. These students would in turn train other students in their schools. As many as one million students would be directly benefited immediately by this training in the coming days and this would have a larger and visible impact in the society,” said KITE Vice Chairman and Executive Director K. Anvar Sadath.
During the training, children have to prepare circuits in the electronic kits at schools, use of raspberry mini-computer and development of edutainment softwares using visual programming application Scratch.
During the training, training to students in areas such as Internet discipline, cyber safety and privacy ensuring mechanisms, will also be imparted. The students would also get training on hardware that will include operating and maintaining the ICT equipment provided to classrooms, necessary software installations and rectify connectivity issues.
The Ministry of Human Resource Development has asked IITs and other central universities to host patriotic concerts.
The Central Government, under the programme – Yeh India ka time hai, has identified certain bands which will visit certain campuses across the country and perform on patriotic numbers, especially from Bollywood.
“A private entertainment firm has been taken on board which has identified around a dozen rock bands. The shows will be planned in various institutions over the next month,” a senior official said.
In order to celebrate 70 years of India’s Independence and 75 years of the “Quit India Movement”, the programme has been organised by the government this year. The Government also instructed all the universities and higher educational institutions to take its students on visits freedom fighters’ and martyrs memorials and residences.
The universities and schools also organised an oath taking ceremony where students, teachers and non-teaching staff took a pledge to make the country a “terrorism-free, caste-free,corruption-free, uncleanness-free and poverty-free society”.
Kalthoom AlBalooshi, Executive Director of Education Development, KHDA,
Education in Dubai is transforming at a rapid pace, all thanks to the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) and its incessant initiatives in establishing better educational institutions.
Working tirelessly in sync with KHDA’s vision of education, Kalthoom AlBalooshi, Executive Director of Education Development, KHDA, Dubai, is portraying an unmatched example of “Women Leaders” amongst the Emirati populace.
Her contribution pertaining to the quality of education in Dubai has helped in overcoming several challenges associated with the current educational practices. She has immensely helped in ensuring transparency in Dubai schools.
She has played a pivotal role in setting up the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau – the first accountable, transparent inspections programme of its kind in the region.
Kalthoom AlBalooshi has been part of various international conferences to explore the best in the field of education. She also participated in recently commenced the 10th World Education Summit, New Delhi organised by Elets Technomedia Pvt Ltd, a unique conglomeration of World Leaders in the field of education.
Addressing a session at the summit, Kalthoom AlBalooshi shared some of the best practices from the education sector in Dubai.
“KHDA is supporting the education sector in Dubai and it has its major focus on the private sector. In terms of education reforms, KHDA is pledged to walk on the roads that are not travelled. We support schools, universities, parents, students, educators, investors and government partners to create a high-quality education sector focused on happiness and well-being,” she said.
Sharing one of her experiences from the childhood, she said, “When I was a child, I was asked to study well and be a part of the best educational institutions to be happy in future.”
She said, “Why to wait until your adulthood to be happy? Why can’t we be happy from the first day of our school?”
Explaining how schools in Dubai are seeding the concept of happiness in students, she said, “We in Dubai think of the happiness of child from day one. Happiness has a huge impact on child’s success. That’s why in Dubai we try to take it as a serious business.”
Dubai schools practice various exercises where students are made to meditate and visualise that they are happy and they are thankful to their parents and loved ones for everything they have, she said during a session.
She then spoke about a task given to the students from different age group from Dubai schools to make a school of future from building blocks. With great happiness, she shared, that the students came up with several unique ideas and one such idea was to start the provision of pets in the school.
She said, “There are several things that can make students happy and they can learn from the things they relate to. We in Dubai have a Happiness Ministry that has detailed agenda on what makes happiness important and how can we encourage happiness to be a part of our school.”
We have taken many IT initiatives but, at the same time, we need to be cautious we must check whether these ICT tools are adding any value in our system. U N Khaware, Additional Commissioner, Kendriya Vidyalay Sanathan, in conversation with Shivani Tyagi of Elets News Network (ENN).
What new initiatives have been taken by KVS to promote school education?
The existing system is still very interesting , and very scientifically drawn up , which is running for 50 years, like how we will have morning assemblies, what will be the scheme of studies, what will be the adventure activities, sports activities, NCC etc every possible area where a school kid has to be exposed. Everything has been well-designed. So our main concern is how to retain their relevance and how to see that they are effective. There are some procedural changes to be made, some systemic reforms have to be continued.
U N Khaware, Additional Commissioner, Kendriya Vidyalay Sanathan
We have to keep on embarking on new initiatives not because of getting something new but because of the requirement. For instance, we have studied that our students are passing the exams, doing good jobs, but lacking in some core skills, some core competence, which makes their jobs very difficult when they advance in their lives. When you are young, your curriculum load is very less. So you manage it even without understanding it and even without the core competence. For example, how to read and write faster, how to understand things from listening and reading activities, how to communicate, how to refer to dictionary, globes, maps, how to be very much comfortable in practical part of science teaching, how to ensure concepts in social science and all? All these things are very much required.
We have launched a massive programme “Back to Basic”, which will run from class 1st to 8th. We have already prepared tool kits and distributed to all schools. A training session was conducted at all levels how to implement and monitor the project effectively. Three master trainers were selected from each region to train teachers of all kendriya Vidyalayas. The project ‘Back To Basic’ aims at ensuring level based learning outcomes as prescribed by NCERT through focused Planning, Teaching and Assessment.
Globally many schools are following innovative practices to promote teaching learning process. What are you planning to bring Indian school education segment at par with international practices?
We are also moving and growing with the time. Right now we have more than 66,000 computers and the ratio between student and teacher is 18:1 which is not at all bad. We have 10,000 e-classrooms, so as of now, each school has 10 e-classrooms. We have also established 200 language labs for our students. We have taken many IT initiatives but at the same time we need to be cautious and check whether these ICT tools are adding value in our system. The ICT tools which are available for students need to be assessed over three parameters, first — are these tools saving time? Secondly are these tools saving money? and lastly but most important is, are these ICT tools adding value to the quality of education? If these tools are fulfilling these parameters so we will provide these facilities to the students and teachers. In today’s time students have plenty of opportunities whereas in our time there were scarcity of opportunities, we had to manage things with the resource we had but now there are plenty of resources. We just want to train a child to utilise the resources and opportunities so that they do not waste time in un-necessary things that are not good for them.
Digital India and Skill India are two most ambitious projects of the Government of India, . what initiatives is KVs to digitise and skilling the education system?
We have started digital literacy classes from class third. Almost all the schools are implementing digital literacy from Class 3 – 10. Students can opt for computer Science subject in XI – XII classes for that we have appointed PGT Computer Science in every school As far as skilling the students is concerned, we believe that all these initiatives should be market-driven and not certificate-driven. If industry comes forward we will take initiatives in broader ways.
What are the key areas where KVS needs to change for good?
We are doing very well in academics. We believe we should also focus on sports. We have a huge playgrounds, Physical Education teachers. Still we need to work on the sports education. We are also trying to bring sports at par with academics. We should give marks on the bases of students’ sports activities. Secondly, we need to work on hub and spoke model of infrastructure at some location of the country so that different school students and teachers come together and utilise these resources for improving their skills.
The seamless accessibility and anytime, anywhere proposition make digital learning an exciting proposition in India. Little wonder, then, that the sector in India is growing from strength-to-strength and is projected to more than double in size to touch $5.7 billion by the end of this decade, writes Kevin Hanegan, Vice President of Knowledge and Learning, Qlik for Elets News Network (ENN).
The ongoing digital revolution has completely transformed the way services are delivered, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the education sector. Over the last decade and a half, several innovative pedagogical developments such as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), online peer-to-peer learning, and infotainment websites/apps have taken the education experience out of the classrooms and projected it onto the screens of learners.
Skilling India: How digital learning is aiding the country’s growing workforce
Kevin Hanegan, Vice President of Knowledge and Learning, Qlik
Many service providers are tapping into the disruptive potential of digital technology to allow working individuals and aspiring professionals to upgrade their existing skill-sets relevant to their job profiles. This approach not only helps them in developing their competencies for their current roles, but also in raising their employability and unlocking better job opportunities for their future career growth. Economic growth also receives a major shot in the arm, as skill gaps are addressed and the demand for professionals with relevant, industry-specific competencies is met.
For example, the data analytics space, with data footprint across the globe increasing at a pace that makes the word exponential seems inadequate, the demand for data professionals is expected to grow by 28% by 2020. Despite the surging demand for data experts, many professionals and businesses still do not fully understand the concept of data analytics, or how critical a role such competencies can play in deriving tangible value from the available data and drive substantial growth. This low level of data literacy is one of the prime factors behind the data science talent crunch; India alone is estimated to face a shortage of 2 lakh data analytics professionals by 2020.
To address this growing demand-supply gap we have expanded our Qlik Academic Programme which aims to raise data literacy amongst students and young professionals by helping them ramp up on their analytical skills. Professors, researchers, and students are provided with ready-to-teach, free resources – such as instructor-led content, in-class activities, and student assignments – along with Qlik licenses and complimentary learning resources. Many leading institutes in India including IIM Bangalore, IIM Lucknow, IIM Indore, SP Jain Global Institute of Management, Xavier Institute of Management, and IIFT are already a part of the programme, which has been adopted by more than 850 universities in over 65 countries.
Tech-driven, tech-led: The way ahead for digital learning
With the growing adoption of digital technology, the global education landscape will be significantly overhauled in the next couple of decades. Digital learning is expected to play a major role in that transformation by giving the next wave of professionals the opportunity to learn new skills and enhance their employability. Today’s workforce has access to the resources and the capabilities that can help them in not only taking on the challenges of a digitally-led, technology-driven world, but also in shaping its future.
Now, students who have taken education loan from government-owned banks can submit a request to claim interest subsidy from Canara Bank.
“Government-owned banks can submit a request to claim interest subsidy for education loans from Canara Bank till 23 November 2017,” said an official.
Canara Bank, the nodal bank to facilitate ease of claiming education interest subsidy, will open a special portal for banks for this purpose.
“The Ministry of Human Resource Development has recently advised Canara Bank to open the web portal for banks to submit their claims for interest subsidy on education loans between August 23 to November 23,” said K Srinivasan, convenor of Education Loan Task Force (ELFT) and a former banker.
Students who have taken loans to pursue professional and technical courses and whose parental income is less than Rs. 4,50,000 per annum, are eligible to apply for interest subsidy.
The Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) has instructed banks to provide training to its employees handling education loan in submitting claims on time without any error, Srinivasan added. Also, the students can approach and take legal help through District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum for deficiency of service claiming damages and compensation.
Students can also approach the Banking Ombudsman for redressal of grievances, if any bank fails to submit the claim.
Amid speculation over fund cut, the University Grants Commission (UGC) announced there was no proposal to stop funding to women’s study centres.
These centres, under the plan head from the Sixth Plan onwards, had been established and sustained by special grants and support given by the UGC.
According to the UGC public notice released on March 29 this year, the continuance of ongoing UGC schemes under the plan head after September 30, 2017 would depend on the outcome of a review by the UGC. Hence, the Indian Association for Women’s Studies (IAWS) expressed concern over the future of women’s study centres in universities and colleges across the country.
“There is no such proposal to cut or stop support to such women study centres,” the commission’s secretary, P K Thakur, said.
Nagaland Tool Room & Training Centre (NTTC) in association with AICTE & ICT Academy commenced the skill-oriented training programme in IT sector which has been aligned to the skill India vision of the Government of India.
“The programme aims to enhance the competency and employability skill of technical students,” The NTTC said.
Under the programme, NTTC students would be trained as per the national norms and standards and would be provided better platform for placement. It would keep them abreast of industry and market demands across the country.
NTTC, Dimapur was established in 2006 by the Government of Nagaland with the assistance from the The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).
Presently, NTTC also offers various short-term courses on CAD/CAM including AUTOCAD, CNC programming & operation, basic & advanced machine operations, basic welding & sheet metal fabrication, diploma in computer application, diploma in graphic designs, diploma in video editing, diploma in web designing, advanced diploma in multimedia, certificate in hardware and networking, etc.
