The whole period of COVID-19 outbreak was a turning point for the entire globe making the third decade of the 21st century probably the most crucial one in terms of smartly and efficiently shifting to a tech-based living and learning. The clarity regarding the connection between technology and education lies in understanding three factors i.e. Learning with AI/ML etc., learning about AI, and preparing for AI. It can be said that the very pace at which these three factors get implemented in a nation is also the rate at which that country is progressing in building AI infrastructure.
AI/ML, Virtual Reality, Supercomputing, IoT, Bigdata, Cloud computing, use of robotics, etc. can enable automation, personalised learning, predictive analysis, deep behavorial insights, smart infrastructure, identification of damaging data patterns, tech-oriented understanding and logical thinking, and a lot more. This type of setup is so powerful that it can fill the cognitive gaps between the social, creative and logical aspects of the human brain as it showcases how the theories convert into practical applications.
The more advanced complex AI tools in the form of supercomputers form another significant sector as far as technological prowess is concerned. To further enhance its capacity in the domain, India launched the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) in 2015. Under NSM, the plan was to connect R&D institutions and academic institutions in the country using a supercomputing grid with more than 70 high performance computing facilities. Increased focus here made India’s fastest and largest supercomputer PARAM-Siddhi AI and supercomputer MIHIR secure the 62nd & 146th spot respectively in the list of World’s top 500 Supercomputers in 2020. The first three positions were captured by Japan and the United States. Many other kinds of computing like Neuromorphic computing, quantum computing, reversible computing, Atomtronics, etc. are becoming a matter of interest to many scholars and researchers, as the government around the globe consider and study the scope of spending more on R&D and institutionalization.
This very fact also explains the growth of ed-tech as a sector globally in terms of both investment and opportunities. A recent data collected by the newly-formed Indian EdTech Consortium (IEC), under the aegis of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), showed that the Indian edtech sector has generated over 75,000 jobs for the Indian workforce in the past five years. The consortium also claimed that over 50,000 professionals are currently part of the ed-tech ecosystem. These kind of new opportunities will very relevantly get superimposed on to the readiness that is being ensured through strong policy change in Indian education system via NEP 2020.
A lot of developments have been taking place in India to further the ed-tech domain. The National Education Alliance for Technology (NEAT), which is being implemented by AICTE, aims to act as a bridge between edtech companies, academic institutions and students. The initiative was taken after a Ministry of Education review noted that learning tools developed by edtech platforms that can supplement classroom teaching need to be made more accessible. So far, the government has roped in 58 edtech companies to the NEAT portal. A comprehensive initiative called PM e-VIDYA was also launched in the country which unifies all efforts related to digital/online/on-air education to enable multi-mode access to education. This will benefit nearly 25 crore school going children across the country as it offers remote learning, SWAYAM online courses, one earmarked TV channel per class from 1 to 12, extensive use of Radio, Community radio and CBSE Podcast via Shiksha Vani, special e-content for visually and hearing impaired, and a lot other provisions. Expansion of the ‘one class, one TV channel’ program (from 12 TV channels to a total of 200 channels) was also announced in the Budget this year. This will enable all states to provide supplementary education for classes in regional languages for classes 1 to 12. Government is also trying to make available High-quality E content in all spoken languages for delivery via internet mobile phones, TV and through radio and digital teachers.
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