Education Ministry's initiative of using ICT in school education in India wins UNESCO award

NEW DELHI: The ministry of education's initiative to use ICT under the "PM eVidya" scheme during the Covid pandemic has won UNESCO's recognition, officials said on Sunday. The PM eVIDYA programme was initiated as part of the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan' by the ministry in May 2020 which unifies all efforts related to digital, online, and on-air education to enable multi-mode access for imparting education by using technology to minimise learning losses.

"The Central Institute of Educational Technology (CIET), a constituent unit of the NCERT has been awarded with the UNESCO’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize for the use of ICT (Information And Communication Technology) in Education for the year 2021," a senior education ministry official said. "This award recognises innovative approaches in leveraging new technologies to expand educational and lifelong learning opportunities for all, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Goal 4 on Education," the official said.

Established in 2005 with the support of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Prize rewards individuals and organisations that are implementing outstanding projects and promoting the creative use of technologies to enhance learning, teaching and overall educational performance in the digital age. An international jury selects the two best projects annually. Each prizewinner receives USD 25,000, a medal and a diploma during a ceremony at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on June 24.

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The ministry has a mandate to deploy affordable technology to enhance educational opportunities for all, augment the quality of education and bring equity into the educational system in the country keeping in view the recommendations of the new National Education Policy (NEP), the official said. Therefore, it has been working tirelessly and meticulously in designing, developing and disseminating a large number of e-books and e-content like Indian sign language videos and talking books among others, the official said.