A Workshop on Education Transformation and ICT in Education Policy, was organized at hotel Radisson, Shimla, on 29th June 2011. The workshop began with a welcome note by Ms. Valsa Williams (Head Corporate Affairs Intel®, North & East India). She also shared the agenda with the audience present for the workshop.

Mr. D. Burathoki, Dr.Srikant Baldi Mr. Shekhri Session in progress

An update on Himachal Pradesh and GGSSS Portmore, the Model School where an Intel E;Learning Facility has been set up, was presented. A briefing was done on the various initiatives taken by Intel® in Himachal in the last 5 years. Progress of the program and plans for the future were also highlighted. The Principal Secretary, Education, Dr. Srikant Baldi, took great interest in the presentation and later referred to some of the slides of the H.P presentation in his address.

Presentation on HP Update Dr. Shrikant Baldi addressing the audience

Dr. Baldi highly appreciated the efforts made by Intel to promote ICT oriented education for transforming the teaching and learning process and moving towards a 21st century classroom. He requested Intel to help the Department of Education in evaluating other government projects related to ICT in schools. Dr. Baldi made a special mention of the GGSSS, Portmore, a model school developed jointly by the Government and Intel. Emphasis was also laid on the maximum utilization of the e-classroom developed by Intel and the Department of Education, Himachal Pradesh. He assured the Intel team that he would extend all the necessary support needed to implement this program in the state.

Participants were taken through an interactive session on Education Transformation.

Discussions were held on:

(a) The requirement of transformation in Education and
(b) How an effective education transformation can help countries to -

• Increase student competitiveness
• Build job skills and competencies
• Support economic development and
• Provide Social Cohesion

Intel’s role in driving a systemic education transformation through research and work with local governments, vendors, and communities was discussed. This was followed by a presentation on Intel’s model of Education Transformation which follows a systemic approach based on research and includes the best practices for improved educational outcomes.

Presentation on Education transformation

The session on the need for an ICT in Education Policy was facilitated by Ms. Valsa Williams.

Ms.Valsa Williams shared her views on the current changing trends of education in India and the world. She also touched upon the current initiatives of Intel and the vision of Intel CSR in India. She asserted that there were various dimensions of strengthening the scope and impact of the Intel programs in the state of Himachal Pradesh.

The participants were divided into five working groups. Each group was required to discuss on a policy and vision for the state. They were given an exercise on presenting the way they would like schools to be and then to analyze the current situation of schools.

Valsa Williams during a presentation Participants sharing their views

Presentations given by each group were followed with active discussion and participation. At the end of the sessions, Mr. Dinker Burathoki, Additional Director- Higher Education, thanked Intel for its continual and sustained work in professional development of teachers and their other innovative programs. He emphasized on the need of education transformation which will result in increased competitiveness, employment, economic development and social cohesion. He also stressed on the necessity of moving from instructor centric learning to student centric learning.

Conclusion:

The Principal Secretary, Education, Dr. Baldi assured that the Department would form a respected and robust task force to draft an ICT in Education Transformation policy for Himachal Pradesh. It was also decided that a second level workshop will be conducted in Himachal, specifically for the task force by a specialist in planning ICT in education policies.

Jt. Director, Education, Mr. Shekhri, requested Intel to develop a Model school similar to GGSSS, Portmore, in a remote area so that a comparative study can be done in this regard and the impact of how technology can bridge the divide between rural and urban students can be shown.

Representatives from SCERT requested Intel to organize a training on computer basics for the staff of SCERT at Solan (H.P).

Attendees:

Principal Secretary Education, Dr. Shrikant Baldi, IAS, Mr. Dinker Burathoki Add. Dir. Higher Education, Mr. Shekhri Joint Dir. Higher Education (nodal officer for Intel’s program in Himachal) Officials from the Department of Education, Ms. Sushma Kaushal, Principal Government Girls’ Senior Secondary School, Portmore, Teachers & Members of the steering committee of the Portmore Model School.