In an initiative to educate the students from the rural areas of Uttar Pradesh (UP), the Pravartak Technologies Foundation, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT Madras) has partnered with Vidya Shakti, an initiative of OpenMentor.
OpenMentor is the CSR initiative of Softsmith Infotech, which caters to the online education and skills of the student community in the country.
The programme would teach the students through online classes with the help of virtual reality. Almost 100 villages of the Varanasi district will be benefiting from the programme, with the sessions being conducted in Hindi medium for students of Classes VI to VIII, said a statement issued by the IIT.
What is the initiative?
The initiative would strive to tackle the "knowledge gap" that has been created due to the COVID-19 crisis and has created a major divide between students from rural and urban areas. The classes are focused on the fundamentals of languages as well as on Math and science, reports The New Indian Express.
A statement issued by them reveals that student retention levels have increased by adopting various technologies. It further stated, "STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) teachers take VR Headsets to the classes to 'act' on the educational content and enable students to 'feel' the environment through the sensors. Short 3D videos are utilised for each concept in science and maths. The visualisation sessions are made interactive through Q&A sessions to make the experience memorable for students."
Director of IIT Madras Prof V Kamakoti said that IIT Madras is trying to motivate these young children especially those from the rural regions to take up higher education and provide them with the necessary guidance and extra counselling when required. He also added that Vidya Shakti involves several like-minded organisations to improve the gross enrolment ratio of the country.
IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation which is the Technology Innovation Hub of IIT Madras.
