Basic Education Department signs MoU with ISRO

UP BASIC Education Department has signed an MoU with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to initiate utilisation of satellite-based primary education project?EDUSAT?for teachers and students. This will enable teachers to complete their refresher courses while staying in the class, while students would have the opportunity to attend lectures of eminent speakers through teleconferencing.

UP BASIC Education Department has signed an MoU with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to initiate utilisation of satellite-based primary education project—EDUSAT—for teachers and students. This will enable teachers to complete their refresher courses while staying in the class, while students would have the opportunity to attend lectures of eminent speakers through teleconferencing.

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Teachers and students of government primary schools would now benefit even within the confines of their classrooms. The distance education project under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan envisages providing training through radio broadcast, teleconferencing, etc. The exercise would help disseminate cost-effective information and knowledge to the teachers and students both.

Already, UP education department has started a pilot project for similar distance education programme for select primary school students here at Sonebhadra.

Students of about 50 schools in that region are already making use of the distance education programme. Sources said the department felt that it was time to reach out to teachers and students who cannot move out for unavoidable reasons.

State Institute of Educational Training has been turned into the hub for distance education programme of the education department. Process of boosting the infrastructure has been kicked off so that teleconferencing could start at the earliest. The department is also seeking help from IGNOU since it was the premier body for distance education programme, sources said.

Erratic power supply in remote villages is another cause of concern. “We’re fully aware about the difficulties and efforts are on to look into other ways and means so that uninterrupted teaching could take place,” a senior official of the department said on Thursday.