CHENNAI: In the near future, more than 38,000 students studying in classes 6 to 9 in 100 government schools will get acquainted with the latest in technology such as artificial intelligence and robotics as the state government has extended the implementation of the Technology Education and Learning Support (TEALS) programme supported by American tech giant Microsoft.
The school education department signed an MoU with Microsoft to implement TEALS in Tamil Nadu in July last year, following which the programme was implemented in 14 schools across the state on a pilot basis.
The inauguration of the programme was held in the city on Thursday. Notably, this is the first time such an initiative to teach advanced technology to school students is being implemented in the country, said officials. As part of the expansion, computer science teachers from the selected government schools will be trained by Microsoft-certified experts.
Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, who inaugurated the event, said that TEALS will help to bridge the digital divide in the state and help students thrive in an increasingly digital-centric landscape. “TEALS will also intensify the role of teachers as facilitators, mentors and guides,” he said.
Speaking to TNIE, Cecil Sunder said that it would take a couple of years for TEALS to be implemented across the state. “In the pilot run, we found out that students are curious to learn about new technology and also grasp them well. While TEALS is limited to only 100 schools as of now, it will be scaled up significantly in the next phase,” he said.