EdTech has been on the rise in recent years, and the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has furthered its progress. The NEP emphasizes the importance of developing digital literacy, coding, and computational thinking in students, as well as investing in digital infrastructure, online teaching platforms, virtual labs, digital repositories, online assessments, and other related areas to promote multilingualism and the power of language in teaching and learning.
The Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan, a major component of the NEP, saw the launch of the PM eVidya platform on May 17, 2020. This unified platform serves to provide multi-mode access to education, ensuring a holistic and inclusive approach to learning. It is available free of cost for all students in all states.
DIKSHA is the nation’s digital infrastructure for school education, providing e-content for all grades and QR-coded Energized Textbooks. The Union Budget for Financial Year 2022-23 has expanded the 12 DTH Channels to 200 PM e-VIDYA DTH TV Channels, enabling all states to provide supplementary education in various Indian languages for classes 1-12. Radio, Community Radio and CBSE Podcast- Shiksha Vani are also being used extensively.
In order to provide for the visually and hearing impaired, e-content developed on Digitally Accessible Information System (DAISY) and in sign language is available on the NIOS website/ YouTube. Virtual labs and Skilling e-labs have also been proposed to promote critical thinking skills and give space for creativity. These labs are offered for Science and Mathematics subjects for Classes 6th – 12th, and training on Virtual labs has been conducted through PM eVidya DTH TV channels for teachers and teacher educators. The Samagra Shiksha scheme’s ICT and digital initiatives segment also provides financial assistance to schools to facilitate the establishment of ICT Labs and Smart Classrooms. Finally, the SATHEE portal has been created in partnership with IIT Kanpur to support students in preparing for competitive exams.
The NEP 2020 is helping to bridge the gap between education and technology, and its initiatives are paving the way for a more digital future in education.
