CHANDIGARH, APRIL :The vision of the UT Administration has turned into a reality with the inauguration of the first smart school in Sector-53 by Mr. K.K. Sharma, Adviser to the Administrator, UT Chandigarh here today. With the inauguration of the first smart school of the Education Department, the classroom teaching will go beyond the confines of text-books. Better still, students can now look forward to widening of their awareness canvas.
While speaking on the occasion, Mr. Sharma said, “A major shift characterized by integrated e-teaching and learning methodologies in the education sector has become imperative and this endeavour of the Education Department is only a first step towards the fulfillment of our goals of empowering the youth of the country.”
He also said that education at the school level was in a transitional phase earlier and is now fast evolving courtesy the introduction of continuous comprehensive evaluation and ICT in the National Curriculum Framework-2005.
Conceptualized with the objective of making learning an enjoyable experience, integrating students with society and preparing them for future challenges, the step is in sync with UNESCO’s policies on Higher Education.
The educational content in smart school solution is strictly mapped to NCERT books and can be easily customized to any State boards. The Chandigarh Administration will roll out a road map for big reforms in the education system by making changes in various spheres.
“Modernization of school education will be a key factor with interactive boards, use of multimedia and formulation of e-contents. Under vocational education ongoing courses will be introduced in other schools as well,” said Mr. Sharma. In the current five year plan, the Administration would spend about Rs 616.40 lakh on education, he added.
He further stated that three new schools have come up in the year 2011-12 and three more such projects are in the pipeline to be setup in this fiscal. Detailing the next five year plan Mr. Sharma said that more initiatives in education sector have been envisioned that includes setting up of 18 new schools, recruitment of teachers, RTE benefits covering free education up to the elementary level, textbooks, stationery, uniforms, school bags and mid-day meal through decentralized kitchens at the school level. Another focus area would be the initiation of nursery and pre-nursery classes in the remaining government schools where the facility is currently unavailable.
Two more schools, Government High Schools in Sectors 50 and 54 shall be developed on same lines. Four of the Government Model Senior Secondary Schools in the UT shall also be converted into Smart Schools.