Ministry of HRD -SWAYAM COURSES
In the light of international literacy week In our country, there is an ostensible divide in terms of access and quality of education and the recent technological advent presents an excellent opportunity to bridge the gap. SWAYAM courses are indigenously designed and is an online course that is open to the masses. The program which is an initiative of the Ministry of Human Resource Development spells out as Study Webs of Active-Learning for Young Aspiring Minds (SWAYAM). It will have in its database all the courses, taught right from 9th grade till post graduation. Along with it, SWAYAM Prabha was also launched which provides with over 30 direct to home channels to view educational content made by prestigious universities across the country.
Furthermore, the concerned authorities will also bring in foreign teachers for the courses and provide for problem solution in real time. It is going to be affordable and accessible that will enable quality teachers to connect to a large number of students who are not physically present in classrooms. The course will also provide for certification after successful completion of courses. In the beginning, esteemed universities like Indira Gandhi Open University, the IITs around the country, colleges under the University of Delhi, Jawahar Lal Nehru University, IIMs in Bangalore, Calcutta, Indian Institute of Science, NCERT will be in charge of designing the courses. The courses offered is also diverse in nature and cover various fields such as mathematics, arts, law, social sciences, engineering, management, etc.
President Pranab Mukherjee had launched these programs during his term at the Vigyan Bhawan. Speaking on the occasion, he said, “The digital modes are cheaper, more easily accessible, interactive, and offer flexibility for people to learn at their own pace. We need to work together to ensure that they are widely adopted for teaching.” Prakash Javadekar, the incumbent Union Minister of Human Resource Development stressed on how education is the strength the country requires and the technological revolution in India should be harnessed to bring in a new paradigm of change. The reach of these courses will mainly prove to be a game-changer in the rural areas, especially the SWAYAM Prabha courses because many rural areas do not even have access to internet streaming. A lot of schools and colleges in these rural areas do not have quality teachers nor do they give students access to quality material, this creates a divide between them and students born in privileged households. For India to realise its potential, it is important that there is a uniformity in the quality of education, material and teachers throughout the country and quality education does not become a privilege for the rich. It is one of the most basic requirements for any child and the Government should do everything in its power to not make it one of the many opportunities only the rich can avail.
Online portal of SWAYAM can be visited here – https://swayam.gov.in/
By- Prerona Banerjee
Student Reporter- INBA