SIKSHA – E -LEARNING PROGRAM BETWEEN RILM AND GOVERNMENT OF MAHARASHTRA – Date 19th January 2018 at Pune
Millions of Congratulations to Rotary India Literacy Mission and the Government of Maharastra for the launch of SIKSHA , a Digital Learning Program for Installing 37000 E-Learning facilities in 18500 Government Schools in the State of Maharastra.
The way of teaching is changing and updating everyday. The traditional and old paradigm of education in not demanding anything now. So, now we find that the classrooms are equipped with new technology. It has it’s own advantages .
I am amazed with the technology that the schools have at present. The way of teaching is changing and updating day by day which certainly is making teaching and learning more effective.
A survey of the state of education in Maharashtra, especially in schools located in rural areas, throws up some good news. The good news is that enrolment and attendance are high.
Probably, Maharashtra is the first state to conceive and implement the programme of bringing government schools onto digital learning platforms. It is a delight to know that tablets and interactive projectors are replacing text books and note books and making learning an enjoyable experience for the children. Another survey says that there is an impressive 15 percent jump in the attendance in schools situated in villages for the past two years. The joy of seeing their children going to school and learning through modern techniques is certainly attracting parents to send their children to school and as someone remarked this is slowly replacing the mid-day meal progamme as an incentive to stay put in school.
It is also heartening to note that the drop-out rate has come down by 1.5 percentage points due to the digital learning syllabus. Schools can now being called as Virtual Interactive E-Learning World, the nomenclature adopted by Amrita University when they launched this programme.
The E-Learning programme launched by the Government and supported by Rotary India Literacy Mission will aim to cover more and more schools in many more states. The budget allocation by the Government of India which was Rs.80,000 crores last year for education might see an upward revision this year. Any amount of money spent on primary, middle school and high school education will only result in developing a generation of citizens who can lead India to greater prosperity. This prosperity comes only when there is a peace of mind among the new generation and Rotary’s aim is Progress through Peace.
Rotary is probably the first service organisation in the world to recognise the importance of training school and college going children to become responsible citizens. It was this farsighted vision of the erstwhile leaders of Rotary that Interact Clubs were established in schools and Rotaract Clubs were established in colleges and in communities for young adults. The partnership of Rotary with Government in various educational institutions has benefitted the students and in this E-Learning initiative Rotary has been playing a vital role from the time the concept was conceived and put into place on trial basis. Understanding the importance of this venture, the then Editor of the Rotary News Magazine was requested to study and popularize the programme. The articles were appreciated and attracted wide attention among all the Rotary clubs in India and many Rotary District Governors came forward to support the cause. I am sure that Rotary clubs all over India will like to implement this programme in consultation with the State Governments citing the success of the Maharashtra model.
I would particularly like to draw the attention of the HonourableMinister to a press report in The Times of India which states that in Tamil Nadu there are 820 schools with only one teacher who handles classes from first standard to the eighth standard and teaching all subjects. This technology can help the students in such schools and also prove to be an effective village school master.
Most of the disgruntled young adults who indulge in various anti-social and anti-national activities are products of an education system which they could not comprehend. From the days of hardbound text books weighing nearly 500 grams to 1 Kg we moved to paperback editions which were easier to be carried and also less expensive. But that did not bring the desired effect since a section of the children could not adapt to hours of classroom lectures and teachers cracking the cane. Girl students had additional problem of not having toilets in schools and the dropout rate was high.
All this is changing with digital syllabus and the way interest is created by a teachers who are now able to grasp and hold the attention of children for extended length of time through E – Learning.
The allied advantage of E-Learning is that the parents can also get involved at home without having to burn the mid-night oil before the exams. It is said that the person who does not read has no advantage over the person who cannot read. This digital system of education will make the student read more of the syllabus and this will be a distinct advantage. An educationist once said, “There is no such thing as a child who hates to read. There are only children who have not found the right book.”
I noticed that all famous quotes given by philosophers and thinkers talk only about books as no one envisaged this digital revolution from 2007 onwards. Probably we have to write some quotes for posterity and I will say, “When a child sees what he or she has to learn on a digital platform, they will never be alone again.”
19 January 2018