Guwahati: The Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT-G) has taken a crucial step in improving the educational scenario in Assam by enabling the first batch of govt school teachers with Artificial Intelligence (AI) skills, IIT-G officials said on Monday, December 8.
This programme enables the educators to teach the newly introduced AI course in the state board-affiliated schools, where AI teaching as a subject began in Class XI this academic session. A total of 126 teachers from over 100 govt schools had to undergo AI training led by IIT-G’s Mehta Family School of Data Science & Artificial Intelligence.
The institute seeks to extend this training to more educators in the northeastern region. AI, introduced as an elective subject, will be taught in the forthcoming year in Class XII, following its introduction in Class IX last year and Class X this year.
As reported by The Times Of India, Naranarayan Nath, secretary of Assam State School Education Board, expressed hope about the future, stating, “The first batch of Class XII students with AI education will pass out in 2027, marking a new era in higher education and enhancing employability opportunities.”
IIT-G faculty members Debanga Raj Neog and Shyamanta M Hazarika, and Sadiq Hussain from Dibrugarh University have authored the textbooks for Class XI. The Class XI textbook was recently released by the Education Minister Ranoj Pegu, whereas the Class XII book is coming up.
The textbook seeks to facilitate AI education for Class XI students in Assam. IIT-G Director Devendra Jalihal emphasised the significance of training teachers who were earlier unfamiliar with AI. Rahul Mehta, founder of the Mehta Family Foundation, said, “Nurturing high-quality talent in Assam will attract companies for research, specific to the northeast, transforming the region into a hub of AI activities and economic growth.”
In the meantime, an online BSc programme in AI, launched in 2023 in the Mehta school in IIT-G, has gained popularity by providing diverse entry routes, and its popularity has increased, with admissions rising from 700 in the first year to 1,400 this year.
The Assam govt has sent more than 200 students for training, with 80 selected for the online BSc programme. IIT-G director Prof Devendra Jalihal emphasised AI’s broad applications, from drug discovery to automatic translation, and expressed gratitude to the Mehta Family Foundation for their support. He foresees that the online BSc course could reach 5,000 admissions in the next five years.
