PNS | Vijayawada
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday called upon the high-power Working Group on Future Technology Skills to provide its recommendations on integrating the current school education reforms with higher education. The group was also tasked with introducing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and related subjects into the curriculum, revamping teaching methods, examination, and evaluation systems at both school and college levels.
During a meeting at the Camp Office, the Chief Minister urged the Working Group members to formulate an action plan to achieve these goals by their next meeting.
The primary objective behind these reforms is to prepare students to be competitive global citizens by providing them with proper training in emerging and future technologies. To accomplish this, the Chief Minister had set up the Working Group last month, comprising senior officials and representatives from global tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, NASSCOM, Dataviv Technologies, and Primus Partners India.
“As part of the reforms in higher education, we need to incorporate subjects like augmented reality, virtual reality, and other related disciplines into the curriculum. Necessary verticals, including AI, should be integrated into the majority of schools and colleges, aiming to produce experts in various emerging technologies,” he emphasized. The Chief Minister also stressed the importance of training faculty to effectively teach these subjects.
He highlighted the need to integrate school and higher education systems alongside the curriculum overhaul. By ensuring that these subjects are taught to successive generations of students, the goal is to produce proficient experts in emerging and future technologies, enhancing global competitiveness.
The Chief Minister acknowledged the challenge of taking current school education reforms to the next level and aligning them with higher education. To achieve this, he emphasized the need to adapt teaching methods, examination, and evaluation systems in schools and colleges to be in line with emerging and future technologies.
He expressed concern that without such changes, students would be unable to compete globally in the era of the International Baccalaureate (IB). “To transform our students into global leaders and IT experts, we must implement these changes and integrate them with higher education. Your cooperation is crucial in achieving this objective,” he appealed to the Working Group members.
The Chief Minister informed them of plans to collaborate with IB, Oxford, and Cambridge to revamp the curriculum and teaching methodologies, setting a benchmark for the entire country. He requested that they take into account the ongoing digitalisation efforts in government schools while formulating their suggestions.
He added that extending future technology skills training from the school level to higher education would enhance job prospects for students upon graduation. Furthermore, he suggested the introduction of virtual content and virtual teaching in all higher educational courses, including engineering and medicine.
Robotic subjects should be introduced wherever necessary in higher education, he said, stressing the need for a comprehensive policy to implement these changes.
The overarching goal of these reforms is to ensure that students gain knowledge of high-end technologies during their education, enabling them to secure top-notch international positions after completing their courses.
The meeting was attended by Education Minister B Satyanarayana, Chief Secretary Dr. KS Jawahar Reddy, and several other senior officials from esteemed organizations such as Microsoft, Intel, Google, and NASSCOM.
