Lok Sabha Question No. 2489 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-07-31
Subject: Initiatives in Higher Education
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: ANJU BALA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2489 TO BE ANSWERED ON 31.07.2017

## Initiatives in Higher Education

## 2489.  SHRIMATI ANJU BALA:

- Will the Minister of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state: (a)  whether  the  Government  has  recently  launched  three  digital  initiatives-  Swayam, Swayam Prabha and National Academic Depository and if so, the details thereof; (b)  whether  the  Government  has  also  decided  to  adopt  a  17-point  action  plan  for  this year, including building digital campuses, if so, the details thereof; (c)  whether  the  Government  has  given  four  mega  projects  along  with  six  integrated projects to Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur and if so, the details thereof; (d) whether the Government is also planning to introduce an integrated B.Ed. courses so that  students  can  decide  on  becoming  teachers  after  Class  12  and  if  so,  the  details thereof; and (e)  whether  the  Government  has  approved  the  University  Grants  Commission  panel's recommendations regarding implementation of seventh pay commission in Universities
- and colleges and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

## (DR. MAHENDRA NATH PANDEY)

(a)  to  (b)  Yes,  Madam.  The  Ministry  of  Human  Resource  Development  has  recently organized  a  National  Convention  on  Digital  Initiatives  for  Higher  Education,  from  8 th to 10 th July,  2017  at  Vigyan  Bhavan,  New  Delhi  where  all  Vice-chancellors  of  Central Universities,  Deemed-to-be  Universities,  Private  Universities,  State  Universities,  State Private Universities, Directors of Central Institutes such as IITs, IIMs, IISERs, IISc, IIITs, NITs  and  other  central  institutes  also  participated.  Various  digital  initiatives  under  the National  Mission  on  Education  through  Information  and  Communication  Technology, were formally launched by Hon'ble President of India, namely:-

(i)    SWAYAM,  an  indigenous  MOOCs  (Massive  Open  Online  Courses)  Platform  for providing  best  quality  education  to  anyone,  anytime  and  anywhere  using  the  IT System;

- (ii)  SWAYAM  Prabha,  the  32  Direct-to-Home  Channels  for  transmitting  high  quality educational content on 24X7 basis direct to every home, without any charge; and (iii) The National Academic Depository (NAD), a digital depository which authenticates
- all the certificates issued by Institutions as per the need of the users.

An  action  plan  for  this  year  including  building  digital  campus  has  also  been prepared which is at Annexure.

- (c)    IIT  Kharagpur  has  been  sanctioned  Four  Mega  Projects  namely  (i)  Signals  & Systems in  Life  Science  (ii)  Future  of  Cities,  (iii)  Technological  Interventions  for  Food Sustainability and (iv) Science & Heritage Initiative along with the six integrated projects that  are  namely    innovative  infrastructure,  digital  convergence,  transport  technologies, affordable health care, advanced manufacturing and geo-science for future of earth.
- (d)  NCTE has already introduced B.A., B.Sc., B.Ed. four years integrated course notified on 28.11.2014. The four year integrated programme aims at integrating general studies comprising science (B.Sc., B.Ed.) and social sciences or humanities (B.A., B.Ed.) and professional studies comprising foundations of education, pedagogy of school subjects and  practicum  related  to  the  tasks  and  functions  of  a  school  teacher.  It  maintains  a balance  between  theory  and  practice,  and  coherence  and  integration  among  the components  of  the  programme,  representing  a  wide  knowledge  base  of  a  secondary school  teacher.  The  programme  aims  at  preparing  teachers  for  upper  primary  and secondary stages of education.

(e) The University Grants Commission (UGC) had constituted a Pay Review Committee (PRC) for revision of pay of academic staff of Universities and Colleges. The report of the PRC along with its recommendations has been received by the Ministry. The report of  the  PRC  has  been  examined  by  an  Empowered  Committee  constituted  by  the Ministry. The recommendation of the Empowered Committee is under consideration of the Central Government.

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## NATIONAL CONVENTION on DIGITAL INITIATIVES FOR HIGHER EDUCATION 9 th  July 2017

## Action Plan 17-by-17

(17 points to be achieved by all the Vice Chancellors by Dec 2017)

## SWAYAM

1. Approve the courses on offer: The list of courses which are being offered for the coming Semester is available on www.swayam.gov.in  .  All  VCs  and  Heads  of  Institutions  are requested to take approval of the Competent Authority (Academic Council/Senate)  for  these  courses  so  that  students  can  opt  for them, and seek transfer of credits.
2. Publicise the courses: The SWAYAM courses shall be publicised by printing posters, WhatsApp messages, Facebook posts and Twitter accounts  of  the  University.  The  objective  is  to  reach  as  many people  as  possible  so  that  they  can  get  benefited  by  these courses.
3. Prepare  new  courses:  If  there  are  talented  teachers  in  the Universities  who  are  willing  to  place  their  course  on  SWAYAM, they should be encouraged. Such proposals may be sent to the National  Coordinator  for  approval  and  for  providing  funding  to prepare the courses.
4. Retrain teachers: All teachers may be asked to use the SWAYAM courses during their own teaching process so that we can have a blended learning process. The flipped classroom model, where the SWAYAM videos are seen at home, and there is a discussion in the class would help in improving the quality of learning.
5. Monitoring  Cell:  Every  University  should  have  a  Digital  Learning Monitoring  Cell  which  reviews  the  current  use  of  these  digital resources and suggests way to improving their utilisation further in the university and the affiliated institutions.

## SWAYAM Prabha DTH channels

6. Buy Free Dish for accessing SWAYAM Prabha Channels: Every VC may instruct buying of the DD Free Dish from the market (costs
2. about Rs. 1400 one-time cost only) and configure these channels in  their  office  first;  and  later  install  in  as  many  class-rooms  as possible.
7. Mandate  other  affiliated  colleges:  The  same  message  may  be given to all the affiliated institutions for setting up these channels and operationalising them immediately.
8. Orient the teachers: VCs may hold orientation sessions for all the teachers so that they see and use these channels while teaching their courses.

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## National digital library

9. Join  the  NDL:  All  institutions  and  the  affiliated  colleges  may immediately join the National Digital Library at https://ndl.iitkgp.ac.in/.  This  will  help  students  to  access  more than 80 lakh digital resources at no cost. Universalise access: Pl ensure that all the students log-in and join the NDL. While doing the  class  work/assignments,  they  may  be  asked  to  use  these resources.
10. Digitise your libraries: All books in the libraries may be digitised and shared with the NDL at IIT Kharagpur so that it would add to the  digital  resources  and  there  is  greater  sharing  of  the  digital resources by all institutions.

## National Academic Depository

11. Join the NAD: Every institution should join the NAD which hold all the certificates digitally. All the past certificates/degrees/diplomas issued should also be uploaded on to the NAD. For more details, please see https://cvl.nad.co.in/NAD/home.action

## Other digital initiatives

12. Digital  campus: All  campus  processes  like  admissions,  academic calendar, attendance, assessments, result declaration, administration, pay roll, financial and such other processes shall be computerised.
13. Smart Campus:  Every campus  shall plan for efficient and economical  use  of  water,  electricity  and  waste.  Use  of  solar
3. power and water recycling systems may be planned for, as they would bring sustainability and savings in the long run.
14. Clean  campus:  Every  campus  shall  participate  in  the  Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan and achieve clean campus that has clean toilets, systems for solid/liquid waste management. There will be swachhata  rankings  of  all  institutions  and  the  best  institutions would be rewarded.
15. Unnat  Bharat  Abhiyaan:  Every  institution  to  adopt  atleast  5 villages and help in translating their knowledge for the use of the rural poor.
16. Innovation drives: Students may be encouraged to think out-ofthe-box  and  arrive  at  solutions  that  are  innovative.  For  this competitions may be organised for all students covering various areas. Every institution should try to participate in the hackathons that are being organised by various agencies, apart from Govt.

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## Planning

17. Plan for future: Every institution should plan for the future. They should  constitute  a  group  within  the  campus  for  preparing  the following:
- a. A 15-year vision: to determine where the institution would like to be.
- b. A 7-year strategic plan: to work out medium term plans to reach there
- c. A  3-year  action  plan:  for  immediate  improvement  of  the quality of learning.

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