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Towards Fulfilling the Vision for 2020 in the North East Event

On 21st June 2010, an event was organized by Intel to discuss the role of ICT in the development of NER, release the position paper and announcement of the MoU between North Eastern Council and Intel. it was a multifaceted event that elicited great response from the stakeholders in NER and the media. Mr. Handique, Hon’ble Minister for Mines and Development of North East Region was the Chief Guest. Other distinguished guests included:

  • Shri Lalsawta, Minister, School Education, Mizoram
  • Shri Bosiram Sairam, Education Minister, Arunachal Pradesh
  • Shri. Anil Sarkar, Minister, Higher Education, Tripura
  • Shri. U K Sangma, Secretary, North East Council
  • Shri. P P Srivastava, Member, North East Council
  • Prof. S Saha, Vice Chancellor, Tripura University
  • IAS officers from all the NER states

Address by Shri. U K Sangma: In his Keynote address, he emphasized on the need to work with commitment for the development of the NER. Education and technology are the two pillars on which the development of the region rests. He thanked Intel for helping on both fronts. The wealth of NER is its people – its human resources. If we can develop these human resources through education, and give them the necessary skills of technology usage, they will take the region forward on all frontiers. Shri UK Sangma and Dr. Praveen released the position paper on NER & exchanged the MoU.

Address by Dr. Praveen Vishkantaiah: He started his address by defining the mission of Intel Education. He said that Intel is working with the objective of improve teaching and learning through the effective use of technology; advance math, science; and engineering education and research; and advocating for and celebrate educational excellence worldwide. He said that Intel has impacted by empowering teachers on use of technology to address global issues. He concluded by saying that he he has seen a lot of positive change in the region, and is very happy that Intel is contributing in this noble endeavor.

Address by Shri. Handique: He said that North Eastern Region is faced by diverse problems. He said that diversity of the region is as an asset and not a drawback. Shri. Handique said that NEC recognizes the need its associate itself with private sector for developmental initiatives. Its association with Intel and the MoU are a part of this approach. He was of the opinion that the MoU between NEC and Intel will go a long way to support the government’s plans for the development of the North East Region. He appreciated that Intel has a sustained commitment to accelerate educational improvement.

Panel Discussion Panelists:

  • Shri. P. D. Rai ,Member of Parliament , Sikkim
  • Prof. Marmar Mukhopadhyay, Director of Educational Technology and Management Academy, New Delhi.
  • Dr. Abhishek Singh, IAS , Director, MoCIT
  • Shri S. C. Khuntia, IAS, Joint Secretary , Department of School Education & Literacy, MHRD
  • Ms. Jayashree Mukherjee, IAS, Joint Secretary, Ministry of DoNERegion
  • Prof. Bhattacharjee, IGNOU
  • Shri SanjoyHazarika (Moderator): Editor, writer and author, Managing trustee ofC-NES and Chair and Prof at the Centre for NE Studies in Jamia MilliaIslamia, New Delhi, in addition to other positions held.

The panel discussion was chaired by Shri. Sanjoy Hazarika. He introduced the topic of the day succinctly by emphasizing that the Government wants to and plans to achieve its targets of access, equity and excellence in education in the NE sector. He said that the discussion would focus on two major points:

  • How can Intel help NEC in the NER given the inherent challenges of the region in terms of geography, demography, diversity, poverty, illiteracy, etc.
  • How to take the schools and colleges of NER from their current subsistence levels towards excellence

He said that these goals are well known, the point of this panel discussion is to discuss innovative strategies and ideas to reach these goals. The first to speak from the panel was Mr. P D Rai. He raised the following issues:

  • He said technology is the answer to overcome the barriers of access – wireless technology and 3G can be used to reach remote villages.
  • He also emphasized the need for training of teachers.
  • Common Services Centres (CSCs) for communities to use various e-governance options should be extended to education and be used for eLearning.
  • Shri. Rai said that we need to raise the bar for implementation:
    • PPP model should be encouraged.
    • Incentives for using ICT in education for teachers.
  • There is a lot of scope for rural BPOs in the NER. These should be encouraged.

The next panelist was Shri. S C Khuntia. He focused on the possibilities for harnessing ICT for education and employment.

  • ICT is a great enabler: using the right technology can help us reach the goals of access, equity and even excellence.
  • There are 3 Lakh untrained teachers in Assam alone. ICT has to be used if they are to be trained effectively, quickly and at low cost. The central scheme of ICT@school can be used to get access.
  • All the schools need to have some form of connectivity – if wireless is difficult, schools can follow the JNV model and get VSAT connectivity.
  • ICT competence of all students from classes 9 – 12 needs to be enhanced, so that they have better prospects for higher education and employment, thereby, using ICT to develop human resources of the region.
  • The teacher training issue needs to be talked through open and distance learning.

Ms. Jayshree Mukherjee spoke briefly about some of the major issues.

  • Access is needed, but much more needs to be done. Skilled people are needed to use the infrastructure effectively. School and college students should be given special motivation in maths and science to empower them effectively.
  • E-governance initiatives of the government cannot succeed without the people (especially Government employees) being skilled in ICT
  • Quality digital Teaching Learning material should be developed and disseminated to teachers.
  • ICT for vocational education should get more attention.
  • ICT can serve to increase transparency in all aspects of civic society. Increased transparency would automatically lead to increase in inclusivity in civil society.

Prof. Marmar Mukhopadhyay spoke about the following issues :

  • It is very important to choose the right technology. Call of the day is that schools can’t depend on desktops or even laptops. They should opt for netbooks. It costs less, weighs less, has longer battery back-up. Intel has brought out a trolley where 24 netbooks can be stacked and charged at the same time. This is very useful in rural and remote areas, which have erratic power supply.
  • The mobile phone, he discovered had 24 educational applications! Rather than banning the cellphone in school, these applications should be utilized effectively.
  • He said that he believed that teacher training needs to be regular, continuous, focused and experiential

Dr. Abhishek Singh spoke briefly about the technology infrastructure needs in NER.

  • NER will get a good network under the National e-governance plan.
  • An eLearning project has been launched in Sikkim, where quality digital content can be accessed by children studying in remote rural areas.
  • Government should recruit people who are already skilled in ICT.

Prof. Bhattachrjee spoke about teacher education in NER.

  • ICT should be used to make teacher education effective.
  • ICT can also help make teacher education more experiential, collaborative and participatory through the use of online tools and resources.
  • ICT integration should be linked to teachers’ incentives.
  • Necessary approvals from statutory bodies may become impediments for new initiatives.

Comments on the Panel Discussion:

  • The Minister from Arunachal Pradesh said that the problems of AP were great and peculiar. The people are very poor, and the topography only adds to their misery. Their education must be a priority for all interested in the development of NER as the literacy rate of AP is one of the lowest in the country.
  • The Minister from Mizoram thanked Intel for providing the opportunity where the ministers, bureaucrats and academia could discuss education and how to make it more effective.
  • Shri. Anil Sarkar, Agriculture Minister of Tripura said that it is important that this meeting be followed up by some concrete action. Intel should work in a committed manner-they should fulfill their promises of the MoU.
  • Dr. P P Srivastava, Member, NEC said that we need to think innovatively to achieve the goals set forth. Renewable energy sources should be tapped.
  • Prof. TR Kem, Director, CEC, informed the House that CEC had developed and uploaded a lot of digital content. He suggested that EDUSAT should be used extensively in the NER.

Mr. Rahul Bedi, Director, Corporate Affairs, Intel gave the Vote of Thanks to conclude the event.

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