Education in India: Sab aasaan hai – all is easy and all is well

 Undoubtedly, teachers remain the most critical link between knowledge and learning delivery. The success of a robust education system lies in not just identifying pedagogical strategies or learning gaps alone – both these deficiencies require efficient and effective teachers for the system to produce ideal results.

One of the most fundamental and universal challenges faced by teachers is to bring a sense of parity into a classroom which is diverse. Even though students are classified on the basis of school years, it is a very well-established fact that every student has his own and independent learning trajectory. Quite often, this emerges as a challenge for teachers who have to account for various other conflicting factors such as time-bound teaching schedules. However, the good news is that antidotes to these concerns exist in the form of strategies that can be more effective in bringing all students to the same level. Focusing on using repetition as a tool and emphasising on ‘ease’ is one way to create a sense of parity in the classroom.

The role of repetition, recognition and reinforcement in teaching has been well-established by research. From philosophers like Aristotle to modern thinkers such as Norman Vincent Peale, a well-known mantra is the importance of incorporating repetition through exercises in a way that ensures that new ideas are seeping from the conscious mind to the sub-conscious. Early education, especially that focuses on introducing the fundamentals of any subject is built heavily on creating this repetitive pattern through varieties of learning. For instance, when students are introduced to something as basic as a sleeping line or a standing line, they are not only made to practice drawing it multiple times but also taught to look for the same in real-life objects such as a log of wood or an electricity pole. In many ways this repetition which is also called practice is the building block of developing any skill that eventually leads to accomplishment.

This also allows teachers to take cognizance of the varying levels of learning and student response in a classroom. One of the most fundamental principles is that teachers may not want to graduate to the next stage of learning till it is established that every single student is on the same page. While teachers often struggle to ensure this at every stage, the idea of ‘aasaan hai’ helps them also internalise this sense of ease which then feeds into their pedagogical process. This system of repetition is a two-way street in the sense that not only does repetition help one learn new information, the mind too reacts to such patterns if there is an element of award or reward. This phenomenon is recognised by the field of psychology as positive reinforcement wherein the mind recognises that performing a certain task yields a reward and that is why it constantly performs (and rather well) the said task. Habits are often instilled in young children through this mechanism.

These ideas and principles are especially relevant to the Indian education system if we can successfully build on these to introduce the concept of ‘sab aasaan hai’ (all is easy or all is well, as goes a popular Bollywood song). One may see that when parents introduce a seemingly difficult activity to their children, they preface it with don’t worry, this is easy. These words of encouragement are meant to act as a stepping stone to new ideas and to ensure that any preliminary fears of new concepts are taken care of so that there is no impediment of learning. Millennial internet slang would describe this feeling through the motivational words, ‘you got this.’ What is then the purpose of building such a motivation? This idea is based on the very natural human reaction where learning anything new seems like a Herculean task – at least, prima facie – and triggers fear immediately. This fear can be overwhelming and powerful enough to obstruct the process of learning and make someone feel like they have a learning impairment where none exists. Such a fear is difficult to diagnose or identify and can lead to many learners lag behind in the process. Not only is it a colossal loss of talent – who knows a child afraid of maths today maybe the Aryabhatta of tomorrow – but this is also germinating a feeling of lifelong regret where as adults they may look back and experience a sense of loss of opportunity.

It is well-known that one of the more effective ways of teaching new concepts to children is to build on existing forms of knowledge or use local references. Once again, this borrows from the concept of repetition and reinforcement. So over time, this reinforcement will develop into a ready-made reserve of motivation for a student who is likely to feel more confident and motivated to take up newer challenges. The fear of the unknown or what lies ahead triggers an uncertainty that philosophers and saints have been trying to understand for ages. But successful policy-making requires one to constantly think a step ahead of challenges instead of waiting for them to reveal themselves.

By making this idea of ‘aasaan hai’ an integral part of the curriculum as well as the pedagogy, we will be able to create a generation of learners who will also be equipped to be better teachers and efficient problem-solvers. New age concepts such as design thinking are based on a solution-first approach. What better milestone than early learning to embed the framework with the answers for tomorrow in one’s mind and system?

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Lakshadweep admin orders education dept officials in Kochi to shift to islands

 The Lakshadweep administration on Friday ordered the officials of the education department in Kochi to shift to the islands. The Directorate of Education of Lakshadweep administration also asked its education officer in Kochi to shift all the office materials like electronic equipment, furniture and files dealt by five of its staff from Kochi to the islands. The Lakshadweep administration has an office in Kochi from which several departments operate.

Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal PP criticised the decision saying that it will adversely impact around 4,000 students from the islands who are studying at various educational institutions in Kerala and also said that the order will be challenged in the court. The order asked the officials which include accountant, a stenographer, two clerical staff and a MSE to shift ‘consequent upon the decision to rationalise the staff of the Education Office, Kochi.’ The education officer in Kochi has been asked to relieve the officials with direction to report before director of education Rakesh Singhal Danics in seven days.

“With the new decision, the students studying in Thiruvananthapuram or other parts of India now need to travel to Lakshadweep to solve their problems. Otherwise, they would only need to travel to Kochi to meet their education and resolve their issues and go back,” Mohammed Faizal PP was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. Faizal said that the administration’s education office has been functioning from Kochi since the last three years and was set up for easy access for the needs of students studying in the mainland.

Faizal also termed the move as an ‘unwanted action’. He also alleged that the island administrator Praful Khoda Patel took the decision unilaterally without any discussion with representatives of the people in the islands or even the standing committee on education of the Lakshadweep district panchayat.

The island continues to witness protests by residents from the past month against Praful Khoda Patel’s reforms. The residents claim that measures are being implemented without taking the people of the islands into consideration. The Save Lakshadweep Forum (SLF) said that the protests will continue until the administration withdraws the measures.

News from the world of education: June 4, 2021

Ashoka invites applications for VISP

Ashoka University invites current undergraduate students from across India to experience the university’s academic offerings through the Visiting Indian Student Programme (VISP). The six-week long online programme will commence on July 5 and conclude on August 13. Deadline for enrollment is June 5. Classes will be held Monday to Friday with over 48 contact hours and in-depth interaction with faculty and teaching fellows. All courses and materials will be offered via secure online platform with full technology support. In addition, numerous professional, cultural and social interaction will be offered through the ‘eSCAPe’ platform of events online for the summer undergraduate cohort. Students can gain credits for the courses they take. To apply, visit: https://apply.ashoka.edu.in/SocialLogin.aspx#

Live learning launches coding programme

Live Learning Technologies began its “Coding for Kids”programme under its Tech Entrepreneurship Initiatives. Not only will this help them help them learn coding but also develop an analytical mindset,a problem-solving attitude and enhance creativity. Open for students from Classes 5 to 10, the virtual classes will be conducted by professionally qualified experts and mentors. More information at Schools.livelearning.io

Govt. of Haryana calls for applications for CMGGA 2021

The Government of Haryana has announced a call for applications for the sixth cohort of the Chief Minister’s Good Governance Associates (CMGGA) programme commencing July 26. Last date for applications is June 7 2021. The CMGGAs work on multiple issues, from transport, education, health, and nutrition, public service delivery, sanitation & COVID management to strengthening flagship schemes like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Antyodaya Saral, eOffice, etc. across Haryana. The new batch will get an opportunity to work on new and current flagship programs under Education, Health & Nutrition, Women Safety, and public service delivery in Haryana. To apply visit www.cmgga.in. The results will be announced in June end.

NIT Andhra Pradesh Calls for Applications to Research Programmes

The National Institute of Technology Andhra Pradesh has called for applications to its research programmes (for full-time and part-time Ph.D. and M.S. by Research for the academic year 2021-22. Those interested can visit www.nitandhra.ac.in to fill and submit the online application form. Last daete for submission is June 10. Eligibility criteria and other information can be found at https://www.nitandhra.ac.in/main/aphd Applicants can write to phdadmissions@nitandhra.ac.in for any clarifications.

BMU to hold Mock CLAT

BML Munjal University (BMU) will hold the All India Mock CLAT Test 2021 on June 5. The exam is based on the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) structure and syllabus and is meant to help students get accustomed to the rigour of the examination. This will be a two-hour exam with 150 multiple-choice questions carrying one mark each. There will be negative marking of 0.25 marks for every wrong answer. Questions will be divided across English Language, Current Affairs including General Knowledge, Legal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Techniques.

Vidyamandir Classes hosts second Lecture by Legend

Vidyamandir Classes Limited hosted the second session of its virtual Lecture by Legend series recently. The focus of the session was to guide medical aspirants and frontline warriors about ways to defeat the COVID virus. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Additional Director, Department of Orthopaedics and Joint Replacement at Jaypee Hospital, Noida, spoke about the need for vaccination and appealed to people to get vaccinated. He also offered tips for medical aspirants and students in general.

Bloombrain’s COVID initiative

Ed-tech start-up Bloombrain has reduced its course fees by 50% for students belonging to financially weaker backgrounds or whose parents lost their jobs recently. The company has developed an in-house scholarship approval and profiling system that identifies deserving candidates and allows approval within 24 hours of application submission. Bloombrain also signed a partnership with Health Gennie app to offer its employees and learners free access for one year to medical consultations for any illness via India’s leading doctors.

Sanskriti University hosts webinar

Sanskriti University hosted a webinar on the Legal Framework for Pandemic Management & Response to COVID-19 in India. The objective was to discuss how public health legislation plays an important role in the containment of any pandemic. Dr. Reena Kansal Jain, Assistant Professor, Department of Law, Punjab University, was a key speaker. Dr. Rana Singh, Vice Chancellor of Sanskriti University, faculty members and students participated.

Virtual graduation ceremony at Stonehill International School

Stonehill International School hosted a virtual ceremony for the graduating class of 2021 recently. All the students have received admission offers in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia and have opted for diverse areas of study like Computer Science, Medicine, Engineering, Design, Business Management, Genetics, Law, Philosophy, Politics, Economics and Hospitality, to name a few.

Tekie raises $1.5 million in seed funding

Ed-tech startup Tekie has raised $1.5 million in seed funding co-led by Silicon Valley-based GSV Ventures and Multiply Ventures. Founded in 2017 by IIT-Delhi graduate Naman Mukund and SRCC alumnus Anand Verma, Tekie is a live coding platform that brings the art of storytelling to make learning a movie-like experience. It has created an animated series on coding to teach text-based coding to kids.

New BBA programme in International Finance and Accounting

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), along with Zell Education, has signed an MoU with Bennett University aimed to provide students with global exposure and international certifications through their new three-year BBA programme in International Finance and Accounting. With this, Bennett University will now be able to provide students from all domains a chance to study International Finance and Accounting from the 2021 academic year. Interested students can enrol for the programme on the Bennett University website

EuroKids Group to be known as Lighthouse Learning

Early childhood and K12 education company EuroKids Group unveiled its new identity Lighthouse Learning Pvt. Ltd. recently. Backed by global investment firm KKR, this reflects the company’s vision to be a high quality educational platform that offers the best educational experiences through its various brands. It also announced that it has extended its national network of schools to Nagpur through a partnership with The Centre Point Group of Schools (“Centre Point” or “The Group”) and Mother’s Pet Kindergarten (“Mother’s Pet”). This further expands the group’s existing portfolio of 38 K-12 schools and 1200+ Preschool across India.

Board Infinity launches mentorship campaign

Ed-tech firm Board Infinity has launched a campaign #TakeChargewithBI to offer pro-bono career coaching sessions and career guidance to students and working professionals affected by the pandemic. Board Infinity will offer 1:1 coaching session of one’s choice with an industry expert at a nominal fee of ₹50; proceeds of which will be donated towards COVID Relief Fund. On the Board Infinity platform, a learner or professional will be able to opt for any live 1:1 coaching session of their choice with an industry mentor. While all the sessions are priced at just ₹50, one can opt to contribute more if they liked the session.

Aakash launches course for JEE

Aakash Educational Services Limited has launched JEE 350, a short-term course for JEE aspirants, in association with Airtel DTH. The classes will run from 11:00am to 2:00pm on Aakash EduTV Channel no. 467, available on Airtel DTH. The daily classes will be conducted on subjects like Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. In addition to the test preparatory classes, AESL experts will also provide motivational and mentoring session to the aspirants every Sunday to ease their stress and to encourage them to overcome their challenges. To subscribe to the channel (costs ₹8.23/day), customers need to give a missed call on 9154052467 and activate their 5-Day Free Trial.

Maruti Suzuki Podar Learn School opens virtual doors

Maruti Suzuki Podar Learn School is all set to open its doors virtually for students of Sitapur in Ahmedabad district of Gujarat in June 2021. Due to the pandemic, the school will begin the online classes for the primary wing initially followed by a senior secondary school in a phased manner. As a part of its CSR initiatives, Maruti Suzuki India joined hands with Podar Education Network (PEN) to launch Maruti Suzuki Podar Learn School, which will affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Educatio.n

WUD signs MoU with University of Reading

World University of Design has signed an MoU with University of Reading, the U.K. for a range of collaboration areas ranging from Arts, Film & theatre to Communication Design, Architecture & Management. The understanding will promote staff and student exchanges and ensure mobility of qualified students from one institution to the other for the purpose of enrolling in undergraduate and graduate programmes. With this, World University of Design has now signed MoUs with over 15 top design universities in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Europe & Mexico.

Mahindra University launches School of Management

Mahindra University launched its School of Management virtually with the top management from MU and Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell University, the U.S., participating in the event. The event focused on “a collaborative relationship” and shared the collaboration across different segments including Cornell faculty delivering guest lectures at MU, academic consulting, curriculum development, student summer immersion and e-Cornell expert-led online programmes. Courses like B.A. in Economics and Finance, BBA in Digital Technologies and BBA in Computation Business Analytics will be offered under the collaboration. To mark the event, a panel discussion on Careers on the “Skills and Careers for the Modern Management Era” was also held.

IBM ties up with Indian institutions

IBM has announced that it will allow over-the-cloud access to its quantum systems for top-tier institutions of India to accelerate advanced training and research in quantum computing. The faculty and students of Indian Institute of Science Education & Research (IISER)-Pune, IISER-Thiruvananthapuram, Indian Institute of Science (IISc)-Bengaluru, IIT-Jodhpur, IIT-Kanpur, IIT-Kharagpur, IIT-Madras, Indian Statistical Institute (ISI)-Kolkata, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (IIIT)-Delhi, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR)-Mumbai and the University of Calcutta will be able to access IBM quantum systems, quantum learning resources and, quantum tools over IBM Cloud for education and research purposes. The collaboration will be part of the IBM Quantum Educators programme that helps faculty in the quantum field connect with one another and provides them with resources to enable quality educational experiences.

Cambridge International releases March series results

Cambridge International recently announced the results of its March 2021 exam series. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, more than 7300 students received their Cambridge IGCSE and Cambridge International AS and A Level results. Cambridge International engaged with education authorities, the government, local authorities and schools to develop robust guidance to ensure the March series ran safely. The release of the results means that thousands of Cambridge students across the country can continue their educational journeys despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The March series is popular with Indian students as it enables them to get their results in time to meet local university admission deadlines.

IIT-Guwahati develops smart window materials for automatic climate control

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT-Guwahati) have developed smart window materials for automatic climate control of buildings. Dr. Debabrata Sikdar, Assistant Professor, Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, along with his research scholar, Ashish Kumar Chowdhary, have designed a smart window material that can effectively control the amount of heat and light passing through it in response to an applied voltage. This will help develop efficient automatic climate control systems in buildings. The results of their study have recently been published in the journal, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells.

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