The new National Education Policy (NEP) has come at a time when disruptive technology such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality have taken solid routes in many sectors, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Saturday.

Pradhan also emphasised that the benefits of digital infrastructure can be fully utilised when each and every student has access to digital devices.

”NEP has come at a time when disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence, virtual reality have taken solid routes into many sectors. These technologies present a number of opportunities for our children and teachers. Our government has announced National Digital Education Architecture (NDEAR), a unifying national digital infrastructure to energise the entire education ecosystem,” he said in his address at the Techspectations EDUCATE summit.

The day-long summit hosted by Manorama Online and JAIN Online, part of JAIN (Deemed-to-be University), had discussions on the emerging possibilities and challenges transforming the Indian education sector in the new normal world. Talking about a major reform in education technology, National Education Technology Forum (NETF), Pradhan said, ”NETF will provide a platform for free exchange of ideas in the use of technology to enhance learning, assessment, planning, administration, and several other aspects of the school as well as in higher education. NETF will facilitate decision-making in the induction, deployment and use of technology”.

”It will not only provide latest knowledge and research but also the opportunities to consult and share best practices with state governments, education institutions and other stakeholders. We must recognise the importance of leveraging the advantage of technology while at the same time acknowledge the potential risk and dangers,” he said. CN Ashwath Narayan, Higer Education Minister of Karnataka, said, ”We have brought in accountability, transparency, efficiency and accessibility through our unified university and college management system initiation. We have been able to connect with all the stakeholders of the education sector in real time, ensuring free flow of data that helps holistic development of the sector. So, we continue to make ample use of technology to strengthen our education system, thereby, the NEP can be implemented to its fullest”.

Techspectations EDUCATE is an annual summit offering a holistic view on the overwhelming challenges and dynamic opportunities of online learning, which is also evolving at an exponential pace. Various stakeholders associated with the Edu-tech sector including academicians, school and college authorities, teachers and professors, students, researchers and scholars, parents, government officials, EdTech companies, among others deliberated on the paradigm shift in the education sector triggered by the pandemic.

”The Indian education sector has been witnessing a paradigm shift from the traditional model of learning to imperative mode of learning. The onset of the pandemic has driven the need for online learning, demanding educators to adapt themselves to the changing situations. India has quickly responded to the changes and adopted a new-age digitized learning mechanism,” said Chenraj Roychand, Chancellor, JAIN (Deemed-to-be-University).

”However, there are challenges we continue to face in the largest education system. Due to this, a large section of experts still advocates for theatrical learning, rote learning and exam-based learning. These challenges can be addressed by implementing collaborative, approach-centric and project-based learning in our educational institutions,” he added.

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