Technology in school education and NEP 2020
Ravindra Kumar Mishra
(The writer is former Chief Consultant, MHRD, GOI. He can be reached at rkmishrajee@gmail.com)
Children are our legacy. It is desired that they should be well equipped for the challenges of 21st century with the required skill set in a fast-changing world. In other words, spark imagination in children to explore, create and imagine to make the planet perpetual and to create a more sustainable world.
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is the first omnibus policy after 1986. The importance given to education technology in the NEP is welcome. It has to contend with multiple crises in the system. There are reports that primary schools record poor literacy and numeracy outcomes and, dropout in middle and secondary schools are significant.
Our schools need a paradigm shift from low level of aspiration to have higher aspirations for all children indiscriminately. Translating this into reality invites stakeholders, teachers, education administrators, policy makers and academic authorities at national and state level to come together to give children the best chance to succeed and contribute to nation building.
Section 23 of the NEP titled 'Technology Use and Integration' puts forth a vision for the role technology will play in a new and improved education sector. It is a positive sign that India's policymakers are finally waking up to technology's disruptive implications for education. Realizing the potential of technology in education emphasizes securing digital infrastructure, developing digital skills, and promoting digital safety. It desires delegation of authority and active role of school management committees also.
"ICT for education and 'ICT education' are two different areas and the former needs more emphasis in school education. Similarly, "Artificial Intelligence (AI) for education" and "AI education" may be elided, but in reality, the two are separate areas requiring different expertise and policy, and the distinction should be duly recognized.
It is pertinent to mention that (AI) is poised to become the next big information revolution. As we move into an increasingly data-driven world, there is a critical need to build an AI-ready workforce.
We need to give children, adolescents and youth the opportunity to learn and understand AI-based concepts and technologies and be connected with the careers of tomorrow. They will need to be digitally confident and global in their outlook, to be great problem solvers, collaborators, and communicators. They must be resilient enough to view hurdles or problems as learning opportunities. AI provides a context to begin developing those skills.
Education officers and managers need to be oriented by the leadership academies at national and state level with an aim to utilize their capacities optimally towards a supportive leadership role to diminish inequality of resources.
It is the pivotal responsibility of apex academic authorities of Centre and state to consider revisit of teacher education curriculum to make it ICT enabled, prepare teachers through teacher education institutions, extend in-service training to serving teachers, orient and expose school management committees for a conducive ICT aided schooling environment.
Although, teaching learning resources are available online, dissemination and divulsion unto the unreached in a mission mode is the major task for the authorities. Aconcrete demonstrable strategy to reach the last child of the society is desired without losing time.
It is high time to ensure access of digital infrastructure and devices that fail to discriminate and that are available and affordable to children and teachers both. Governments may think of creation of a fund to help socially and educationally disadvantaged children pursue hurdle-free education. This shall be a milestone in accomplishment of universal access and success of Right to Education.
The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us to remain prepared to such challenges with the intent that learning never stops. The government should create the basic conditions, strengthen academic authorities, facilitate technology viable environmentand then let school accountability work of regulating quality because every child has a right to appropriate education of high quality.