Annapurna Devi, Minister of State for Education said education is an important tool for national character building. Hence, the capacity building of children is important, she said while attending a technical session following Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s inaugural address at the Shikshak Parv conclave on September 7.

She stated that the development of a nation is dependent on education it “is an important tool for national character building. Therefore capacity building of children is essential.” She also stressed that it is important that both teachers and children learn together. “They must also learn the local skills and acquire experience-based learning to make education more relevant in present times,” she added.

The session was chaired by Dr K Kasturirangan, Chairman, National Education Policy Committee, and Prof JS Rajput Former Director, NCERT, and senior officials of the Ministry were present on the occasion. The theme for 2021 is “Quality and Sustainable Schools: Learnings from Schools in India”.

At the conclave, Kasturiangan pointed out that due to the Covid 19 pandemic “there were some disruptions as well as learning loss among children.” He also emphasised restoring quality education and maintaining sustainability as these “are the two major challenges, besides the challenges posed by the pandemic.”

He focussed on four issues in this regard — “firstly, the foundational literacy and numeracy is an important aspect mentioned in NEP 2020. Secondly, community engagement and support are also required to ensure that all children are retained in school. The third point is curricular transformation with regard to which the NEP focuses on lessening the burden so that there is more scope for other forms of learning. The fourth issue relates to the teachers who are central to the education system and have an important role to play in bridging the gap of learning loss.”

Meanwhile, Prof JS Rajput said teachers must remember to first know the child, understand the mind of the child and remember that nothing can be taught but learnt. “Learning is the treasure within, teachers can only inspire the learners to realise the treasure from within,” he added.

Prof Sridhar Srivastava, Director, NCERT, while welcoming the participants highlighted the active role played by NCERT during the pandemic situation by supporting the education in the online mode, developing teaching-learning resources such as the Alternative Academic Calendar, PRAGYATA Guidelines and NISHTHA 2.0 online training modules for supporting teachers.

He further said that this year’s Shikshak Parv adopts a “whole-school” approach; one that extends beyond the curriculum and addresses the entire planning, operation, and management of the school facility.

“The upcoming nine National Webinars during Shikshak Parv will focus on various themes that will help all those connected to the Parv learn from schools and teachers. NCERT will incorporate the learnings from schools into the National Curriculum Framework (NCF), which is under development at present,” he added.

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