Blackboards to be replaced by classrooms soon under the new scheme. (Representational Image)HRD minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday launched ‘Operation Digital Board’ which aims to set-up one digital and interactive board per classroom in government schools. Additionally, e-resources will be made available to students for any time, anywhere access, the minister said.
Digital board will be introduced all over the country in government and government-aided schools for students from class 9 onwards from the academic year 2019-20. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Javadekar said that the scheme aims at converting a conventional classroom into a digital classroom.
It will work on emerging technologies including Machine Learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Analytics and provide ‘Intelligent Tutoring’ to students based on their personal requirements.
Javadekar said that the biggest challenge facing the education sector in the country is maintaining acceptable quality standards across the country. “Although we have a good number of premier institutions, which compete with the best in the world, a large number of higher education institutions and schools needs improvements in quality teaching-learning, as the students coming out of these institutions find themselves unsuitable for the requirements of the society and market. The spread of educational technology and connectivity has given an opportunity to resolve this issue and aim at equity in educational standards,” he said.
Around 1.5 lakh secondary or senior secondary schools will be covered under the scheme. Additionally, the operation digital board (ODB) will also be implemented in higher education institutes. The UGC in its Commission meeting held on January 29, 2019, had passed a resolution for extending digital education to every classroom in the country by 2022.
It is estimated that there would be 5 lakh classrooms in the institutions which are aided by Centre or state governments. Out of this, based on the readiness, UGC proposed to take up 300 universities and about 10,000 colleges in the first phase covering 2 lakh classrooms.
For the 2 lakh classrooms, the cost is estimated at Rs 2000 crores. This can be implemented as a Central scheme, as a loan from HEFA.
