Sikkim pact for digital literacy

RAJEEV RAVIDAS, TT, 01 Feb 2019, Gangtok: The Sikkim human resources development department and Microsoft India on Thursday inked a memorandum of understanding to transform the educational landscape in the Himalayan state by enhancing digital literacy and building new age technology capacity among students and teachers in the government-run schools.

The four main objectives of the agreement, which was signed by Bhim Thatal, the director of higher education of Sikkim, and Vinnie Jauhari, the director-advocacy, education of Microsoft India, will be valid for a year, but can be extended after mutual consultation.

As part of the collaboration between the two parties, Microsoft will support Sikkim by integrating the IT content in the state board curriculum, carry out reforms in the schools through the Microsoft Innovative Schools Programme, build teacher capacity through the Microsoft Educator Network (MEN) and Innovative Educator Programme and enhance digital literacy and digital citizenship in the state.

R. B. Subba, the HRDD minister, who was present at the signing of the agreement, said the government was happy to partner Microsoft since it is committed to harness the power of technology to transform e-governance and other core sectors.

"The initiative on education is the first step towards that. Our vision is to make our youth future-ready with es- sential digital skills and we believe Microsoft's expertise in this area make them an ideal partner for our transformational initiatives," he said.

Elaborating on the main objectives of the pact, Jauhari said the government will integrate Microsoft's IT courseware and content in the state board curriculum for Classes VI to X. "We will also train 100 master trainers on the curriculum and the State Council for Research and Training labs nominated by the government," she said.

The MoU being signed in Gangtok on Thursday As part of the school re- form, Microsoft will adopt two schools identified and nominated by the government to train their teachers on Microsoft's curriculum on creative coding and gaming through apps, robotics, entrepreneurship and tools for collaboration, creativity and communication.

The training will be imparted by conducting workshops at these schools as well as online webinars to equip them with technology skills to counter real life challenges.