RANCHI: To ensure children get the international standard of education and become innovative, STEM-labs are being developed in government schools of Jharkhand.
Focusing on students who have a knack for math, science, and technology-related subjects, the labs will help impart students with practical learning and problem-solving ability based on the theories taught in regular classes.
STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines -- Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) through an interdisciplinary and applied approach. Rather than teaching the four disciplines as a separate module, STEM integrates them into a cohesive learning paradigm based on real-world applications.
Notably, STEM labs have become a norm in developed and developing countries around the world, but it is yet to become a regular practice in Indian schools.
According to officials, the labs will be open to students in all government schools in the respective block. After evaluating the impact of this project, similar labs will be set up in all the blocks.
“The project is being implemented through the innovation fund of state government and has been adopted in Ranchi district,” stated an official communiqué from the state government. Initially, STEM labs are being installed in five blocks in Ranchi as a pilot project, it said.
It further added that the traditional education system in India still being focused on books and numbers, but little importance is given to the practical implementation of these theories. STEM labs will give students the space to think freely and create something on their own, it said.
The government believes that such a project will help in terms of value addition and in creating an interactive atmosphere for students.
The lab is equipped with different exhibits related to the subject module taught in the curriculum of the schools, such as Pinhole Camera, LED-based heart, Eye Model, Ear Model, Infinity Wall, Sound in different mediums, Layer of Soils, Solar System, Hand Pump, Solar Power System, Hydro Turbine, Motor model, Sensor Setup, Telescope, Generator, Skeleton System, Newton's law of motion set up, Biodiversity set up, Different types of robots, Projector, Tab, Interactive Computing device, etc.
Apart from value addition and various components like a library, laboratory, smart classes in schools, the focus will also be on the capacity building of teachers. All the teachers deputed in these schools will be given hands-on training before the final hand over.
In another initiative to promote quality education, the 27 ‘Zila’ (District) Schools will be converted into model schools and affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). Chief Minister Hemant Soren has said that the principals and teachers of these schools will be given focused training by some of the leading institutes such as IIM, XLRI, NCERT, and NEIP.