Srinagar: In a significant development for the students of Army Goodwill Schools, five Army Goodwill Schools located at Pahalgam, Margund (Ganderbal), Uri, Ziran (Baramulla) and Bhimbar Gali (Poonch) have been digitised as part of the pilot project “Digital Education Program” in partnership with Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) and Extramarks Education Foundation (EEF).
While PGCIL has supported the digitisation of all the classrooms, EEF has extended necessary educational tablets for students and teachers, training and software support for the program.
General Bipin Rawat, Chief of the Army Staff inaugurated the Digital Education Program at Army Goodwill Public School, Pahalgam on 25 May 2018 in presence of Lt Gen AK Bhatt, GOC Chinar Corps, JP Singh, Executive Director (PGCIL), Poonam Singh Jamwal, CEO Extramarks Foundation and special invitees from the state administration to include SP Pani, IGP Kashmir Region and Zulfiquar Hasan IG CRPF.
The event was also attended by a large number of Army, Police and civil dignitaries, students, parents, alumni and principals of the Army Goodwill Schools. Students, parents and teachers in particular were delighted at the new initiatives being undertaken by the Army to modernize the education infrastructure in AGSs/AGPS, a defense spokesman said in a statement issued here. The Smart Class Program will facilitate the schools to integrate technology in the day to day life of the teachers and students right inside their classrooms and affect a significant part of teaching and learning in any given academic session. The classrooms have turned into lively learning platforms for the students and the easy-to-use tablets provided to the students are installed with the latest CBSE curriculum and contain extra features like Mind Maps, Self Assessment Tests, NCERT Solutions, etc.
Speaking on the occasion, the Army Chief said that the schools around the world are using technology during the teaching–learning process for better comprehension and assimilation. Therefore, this pilot project will become a game changer in imparting knowledge in a more meaningful and effective manner. The Chief also said that moving to Digital Education at AGSs would be in line with the nation’s vision of making education qualitative and affordable. This initiative is likely to pave the way for empowering the students of J&K to compete with their counterparts in rest of the country.
The COAS urged the students of all AGSs to make best use of the ideal educational ecosystem being provided to them, both in terms of availability of well qualified teachers and state-of-the-art technology.
Highlighting the contribution of youth in national integration the COAS exhorted then to focus on their studies and aim for all round personality development to become responsible citizens of the country. The COAS also presented 130 tablets to teachers and students which will enable them to exploit the new digital education infrastructure optimally.
