National School Education Ministers Conference commenced today in Gujarat. Union Ministers of Education and Skill Development and Education Ministers of State Governments are participating in the conference.
On the side-lines of the conference, Union Education Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan along with Education Ministers of States/UTs, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MoS Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Electronics & Information Technology; Smt. Annapurna Devi, MoS for Education; Dr. Subhas Sarkar, MoS for Education and senior officials of Ministry of Education visited Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK), Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG), National Forensic Science University (NFSU) and International Automobile Centre of Excellence (iACE).
Participants visited the Vidya Samiksha Kendra in Gandhinagar with Education Ministers and representatives of various states and UTs. Speaking about VSK, Shri Pradhan said that it is a nerve-centre for technology-enabled learning in Gujarat. He also lauded VSKs AI & data-driven approach that has given a boost to enrolments & participation, and improved learning outcomes. To achieve the goal of enhanced learning outcomes across India, Shri Pradhan encouraged the Government of Gujarat to organise workshops for sharing best practices in governance & technology-enabled learning.
Participants visited BISAG-N studios and other technical facilities and witnessed the works being done there towards improving the learning outcomes of children. The visit aimed to orient stakeholders on various aspects and role of BISAG-N in telecast of eContents and use of geo informatics in education and other sectors and bridging the digital divide.
Dr. T.P. Singh, Director General, BISAG-N, MeitY at Gandhinagar, Gujarat explained different activities undertaken by BISAG-N – supporting telecast of eContents through 51 channels including 34 channels for Ministry of Education (School, Higher and Technical) Government of India under SWAYAM Prabha and PMeVIDYA DTH TV Channels (one class, one channel).
Dr. Singh reiterated the democratic vision behind launch of 12 PMeVIDYA DTH TV channels and expansion of these channels to 200 more, for making quality eContent available to all. Dr. Singh suggested creation of eContent focusing on local languages, knowledge, various subjects, skill development, culture, environment, coaching for competitive exams etc. keeping in-line with the recommendations of National Education Policy (NEP) -2020.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Pradhan called for a collaborative approach among all stakeholders for developing quality e-content for all classes from Balvatika to Class 12, including in local languages. He also encouraged BISAG-N to use its facility for developing innovative audio-visual content to boost learning.
Participants also visited the National Forensic Sciences University. After the visit, Shri Pradhan said, it is the first, one-of-a-kind and only super-specialised forensic university in the world. A pride of Gujarat and India, the NFSU is an institution of national importance which is creating a pool of trained professionals & fulfilling the demand of cyber defence and next-gen intelligence experts, he added. Shri Pradhan called for convergence between NFSU & Ministry for Skill Development for skilling and up-skilling in digital forensics and other inter-disciplinary areas.
Later in a day, participants visited international Automobile Centre for Excellence. It Is one-of-its-kind institute in Gandhinagar catering to end-to-end skill development, training and research needs of the Indian automobile industry. Speaking on the occasion Shri Pradhan said that joint venture between Government of Gujarat and Maruti, iACE is a wonderful example of industry-academia collaboration, blended & employment-oriented learning. He suggested NCVET to evolve ways to provide degree equivalence to skill training programs conducted there.
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MJPS/AK