KITE distributes robotics kits to Lakshadweep schools to boost STEM education

KOCHI: The Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE), the technology arm of the Department of General Education, has distributed robotics kits to schools across the nine islands of Lakshadweep, an official release said here on Thursday.

This initiative is designed to enhance the study of robotics and provide hands-on learning for tenth-grade students following the Kerala curriculum, it said. A total of 100 robotics kits were provided, with one kit for every three students , to facilitate practical and simplified learning , the release said.

To support this, KITE has also launched a five-day training programme for high school ICT teachers and DIET faculty from Lakshadweep. The training began today at KITE's Regional Resource Centre in Ernakulam. Kerala's Minister for General Education, V Sivankutty , inaugurated the training programme online.

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"The Kerala government is committed to providing all necessary resources, including the latest technology, to ensure the students of Lakshadweep receive the best possible education," the minister stated. KITE CEO K Anvar Sadath officially handed over the robotics kits to the school representatives.

According to him, these kits will help students explore the new concepts of robotics outlined in the World of Robots chapter of the new Class 10 ICT textbook. Through activities such as circuit building, using sensors and actuators, and controlling electronic devices via computer programming, students will gain hands-on experience of core robotics principles.

This project follows a recent AI training programme for all postgraduate teachers in Lakshadweep schools, led by KITE last month. Sadath also announced that the next phase will involve training for primary and upper primary school teachers in Lakshadweep. He said KITE has already provided 29,000 robotics kits to schools in Kerala. Additionally, arrangements have been made for schools that require more kits to purchase them directly, Sadath said. The event was attended by K K Shanavas, Academic Expert from the Lakshadweep Education Directorate, and KITE faculty members A R Muhammad Aslam, Swapna J Nair, N P Jayan, and Aji John.