NEW DELHI: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on Sunday, pushed for promotion of e-learning in a post-covid-19 India and announced that there will be dedicated TV channels for each school class and permission will be granted to 100 top universities to offer online degrees and courses.
The minister, announcing the final and fifth tranche of the economic stimulus package across various sectors, said that the government will launch PM eVidya, a programme for multi-mode access to digital education, which will include the existing Diskha portal for online content.
There will be one earmarked TV channel for classes 1 to XII, exclusive use of radio and community radio, and online degree programmes.
The dedicated TV channels, Swayam Prabha, will telecast recorded and live programmes for six hours on all working days with three repeat telecasts—making these 24x7 channels.
Sitharaman claimed that educational institutions are using technology in a big way and the government is already airing school education content through three TV channels.
“Another 12 channels are to be added. One class, one channel will also be part of this. Then there will be extensive use of radio community radio (for education purposes),” she announced.
Sitharman added that the Union Human Resources Development ministry has allowed 100 top universities in the country—chosen on the basis of ranking in the National Institutional ranking Framework-- to start online degree courses from May 30 “automatically".
This suggests these universities can offer online degrees without seeking fresh approval from regulators University Grants Commission or All India Council for Technical Education.
This, the government, believes will benefit students who cannot attend classes disrupted due to the ongoing pandemic.
Sitharaman added that the Centre will also launch a new mission for early literacy and numeracy skills to overcome the learning crisis at the early school stage.