Frontlist | Govt to set up virtual university to boost technology

“Government will soon take necessary steps to establish Virtual Universities, which is different from the concept of open universities, will help in achieving the desired GER (gross enrollment ratio) in higher education as envisaged in NEP (national education policy), the education ministry said. Mint first reported on 28 January that the union government may make a special allocation in Budget 2021-22 for larger technology adoption in education amid the huge shift the education delivery and content creation space is witnessing after the pandemic disrupted the sector completely. Meanwhile, education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal who held a meeting with his top officers and said that National Education Technology Forum (NETF) as envisaged in the new education policy, should be seeded with University Grants Commission and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and “should start the work immediately. The minister also called for using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technology for imparting studies in mother languages in the higher education. The NEP unveiled last year had envisaged the establishment of a National Educational Technology Forum, to work as a platform for free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to enhance learning, assessment planning and administration for school and higher education. He also said that branding of Study in India programme should be taken up on a wider scale and dedicated task forces should “analyse the reasons behind students going abroad for pursuing studies. Source: Live Mint