Vice President Naidu calls for increased access to Internet in rural areas
New Delhi, February 14: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday stressed that while Central and state governments are taking measures to promote digital learning, it is important to ensure that there is no digital divide.
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To ensure this, he called for increased access to the internet especially in rural areas and remote places and to 'keep inclusivity at the heart of the educational experience'. 'The mantra should be -- embrace, engage, enlighten and empower'. Addressing the gathering after inaugurating the Sports Centre at the National Institute of Technical Teachers Training & Research (NITTTR) in Chennai today, Naidu expressed concerns about the impact of the pandemic on education and said that school closures affected girls, children from disadvantaged backgrounds, those living in rural areas, children with disabilities and children from ethnic minorities more than their peers.
On this occasion, the Vice President also inaugurated the NITTTR Open Educational Resource (OER) today. Calling it an important step in improving inclusivity through distance education, he observed that it would help the teachers in improving their knowledge base and teaching methodology.
Calling for corrective action from the governments, Naidu suggested that one of the important measures is to upgrade the skills of teachers in e-learning.
He emphasizes the importance of quality teacher training in India. He further said that 'teachers constitute the intellectual lifeline of a nation and play a critical role in charting its development'.
Naidu further stressed the need to create teachers who are 'learners and creators of knowledge -- teachers who touch lives and seek to uplift the human condition. 'We need inspirational, transformational leaders in our classrooms, especially in rural India', he added.
Talking about India's demographic dividend, he said that teachers have greater responsibility in moulding India's huge youth population into responsible citizens. "Education does not mean just degrees," he said and opined that the true purpose of education is enlightenment, empowerment and wisdom.
The Vice President also called upon the institutes to focus on developing a constructive and positive attitude among the students.
The Vice President lauded the role of teachers as 'COVID warriors' and doing their best to ensure the academic continuity of their students during the pandemic.
He noted that the teaching community explored technology and showed 'remarkable flexibility in reinventing their strategies and methodologies to support the learning of students.'
Referring to the National Education Policy 2020 as a visionary document, the Vice President said that it seeks to transform the education ecosystem in our country and underlines the importance of energizing and motivating young faculty members.
He urged teachers to adopt innovative strategies to address important national and global challenges and opportunities in an intellectually vibrant, collaborative environment.
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Stressing the need for the decolonization of India's education system, the Vice President called for taking inspiration from India's ancient knowledge systems and great sages who had made our country a Vishwa Guru - a knowledge giver.
-PTC News
