By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, March 17: Education Minister Rakkam A Sangma suggested the NCERT to take up the diverse cultures, traditions and languages of the Northeast as part of the school curriculum, maintaining that understanding the traditional knowledge is very much part of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The education minister was addressing a gathering as the chief guest at the All India Children’s Educational eContent Competition (AICEeCC) 2023-24, which culminated here on Saturday with a valedictory and award-giving session at North East Regional Institute of Education (NERIE), NCERT, Umiam.
Lauding the NCERT for organising such an event in Meghalaya, he appealed to the educationists to be a step ahead of technology and use the same responsibly, so that the humane approach of education is not diminished.
Expressing his wish for North East Regional Institute of Education (NERIE) to undertake more research in the field of education, he informed the gathering about the efforts of the state government in making a curriculum framework for the state, which, in his view, will help in the promotion and preservation of the local cultures.
Director, NCERT, Prof. Dinesh Prasad Saklani, congratulated the winners of the competition in his keynote address and asked stakeholders to submit a significantly greater number of entries.
“Only a knowledge-based economy can help India become a Viksit Bharat by 2047, and NEP-2020 has a seminal role to play in achieving this target,” he said
Prof. Saklani, while opining that the NEP-2020 has helped India to come out of the colonial mindsets of the past decades, emphasised the importance of the foundational stage in building the character of the children.
He also said eContents could play a significant role in bridging the curricular gap that students might have to undergo and, therefore, exhorted participants to make more engaging eContents.
He also asked the content creators to be mindful of the broad objectives of the NEP-2020, which are to be more accessible, to improve quality, and to make the education system more equitable, affordable and accountable.
During the programme, the results of the competition were announced, and awards were given away.
It may be mentioned that the competition received about 750 entries, comprising around 200 entries for audio, more than 100 entries for immersive econtent/ new media and around 450 for video/animations.