The Centre has decided to launch ‘Operation Digital Board’ to make ‘Smart Classrooms’ in schools across the country during the next five years. HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday said that the Operation — on the lines of Operation Blackboard in late 1980s to ensure a blackboard in every class - would be undertaken jointly by the Centre, State, corporate and community centres.
“This will improve the quality of education. Students will be empowered with 360-degree information with interesting learning experience, and teacher accountability will also increase,” Javadekar said at the 65th Meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE), the highest body advising the Centre on education.
This was the second CABE meeting under the current regime and first under the Chairmanship of Javadekar. The first was held under Smriti Irani.
A number of decisions were taken at the meeting where concerns were also raised by the State Governments. The resolutions adopted were commitment to ensure Quality, Equity, Accessibility, Accountability and Affordability in education by pro-active action and plan.
Speaking on the occasion, Javadekar emphasised that education is a national agenda which empowers the individual, family, society and the nation. He highlighted some recent steps of the Modi Government such as codification of learning outcomes, national academic depository, digital initiatives that strengthen education, training of 15 lakh untrained teachers, re-introduction of class X board examinations, and the status of no-detention policy. He endorsed that the States’ requirements of additional funds is well justified.
The second session of CABE will be held on Tuesday. The meeting was attended by the Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi, Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment Thawar Chand Gehlot, Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Naqvi, Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports (Independent Charge) Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, and MoS HRD Satya Pal Singh.
Maneka suggested introduction of career counselling from ninth class and employing women drivers and helpers in school buses. For promoting greater tolerance among students belonging to different religions, she suggested that just like earlier Moral Science classes, religious books of all religions may be exposed so that students can start appreciating other religions.
While Gehlot called for more efforts to ensure that students from socially disadvantaged sections, girls and differently-abled are enrolled and they continue their studies without dropping out, Naqvi highlighted the importance of inclusive education so that no section of the society is denied good quality education, promote activities of Sadbhavna Mandals started by MoMA to provide skill development programmes, sports & health programmes.
Education Ministers of 20 States, representatives of 28 States and Union Territories, CABE members, heads of autonomous organisations, Vice-Chancellors of Universities, and KK Sharma, Secretary, Department of Higher Education and Member Secretary, CABE and Anil Swarup Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy were present in the meeting along with senior officials of the Central and State Governments.
The HRD Ministry also released the auto-generated district report card brought out through the National Achievement Survey 2017, which assessed the competency-based learning outcomes covering classes 3,5 and 8 across 2.2 million students from 1,10,000 schools from 700 districts were assessed.