‘We Should Include Digital Technology, Innovation in Teaching’: R Ramanan

Stressing upon the need to urgently bridge the gap between the students studying in the hinterland and those in urban centres, R Ramanan, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission, Additional Secretary, NITI Aayog said use of modern day technology can solve a number of issues facing the school-level education system today. “We can create thousands of brilliant children through digital technology. How can we bridge the gap between children growing in farms with no access to schools and the rest?” said Ramanan while discussing the topic ‘Gearing up for 2020s: Making Indian Schools Future Ready’. He was speaking as ‘Guest of Honor’ at the School Leaders Conclave organized by BW Education.

Ramanan pointed out: “We are living in a world where technology is changing the very shape of the world. The way you are experiencing the world or the way the world is experiencing you. It is a world which is very well connected especially because of the internet.” Therefore, the goal is how to create and promote an ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship across the length and breadth of this country.

He called upon the teaching community to come out with solutions so that our students could become problem solvers. “They can be innovators and the job creators of the future. How do we attract them with the tools and technology and methodologies and processes that is going to enable them to reach that goal all of us have sought throughout our lives?” he asked the teachers and principals of schools to ponder over and share their views.

Giving a context to the topic, Ramanan said India, with 1.3 billion people has 1.4 million schools with 150 million young students. There are 10,500 engineering colleges, 29,000 other colleges and over 10,000 business schools as well. “The world is becoming advanced in terms of technology, affordable, available and accessible. The house or the room or the classroom have become smart houses, smart classrooms, smart cities, smart village, and smart districts. We have robotics changing the way the world is operating and reducing all the mundane work,” he said adding that the future demands our children to aspire, aim for the sky and therefore be the best of the best.

“It is going to be digital technology that is soon going to rule the world. The goal is how do you create and promote an ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship across the length and breadth of this country. We have the opportunity in our country to become the knowledge leader of the world and the young students in our country are going to have to do that,” he said. “So how do we teach them to be innovative? We should teach them dedication and discipline, also that genius is 99% perspiration and 1% aspiration. Then we will have the finest schools and students in the world,” he concluded.