INDIA: Science and technology camp held
200 students and teachers take part in hands-on model for learning
INDIA
(MissionNewswire) St. Anthony’s School, located in Jaigaon in West Bengal, India, partnered with International STEAM Research to conduct a three-day DaVinci Innovation Camp for 200 teachers and students. STEAM is a hands-on model for learning science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Dr. George Panicker, founder and director of International STEAM Research and Don Bosco Kolkata alumnus, facilitated the camp. He said, “The camp gives an insight into the much-needed paradigm shift from traditional education philosophy, based on standardized test scores, to a modern ideal which focuses on valuing the learning process as much as the results.”
Panicker added, “Both students and teachers got to understand the new teaching and learning ecosystem model for experiential learning, aligned to National Education Policy 2020.” The new education policy promotes invention literacy through critical thinking, communication, creativity and collaboration, as well as develops students as future-ready problem solvers.
Access to professional training and workforce development services is highly valued in India. The country, which is home to 1.34 billion people (18% of the world’s population), will have overtaken China as the world’s most populous country by 2024, according to the World Economic Forum. While India has the world’s largest youth population, it has yet to capitalize on this, leaving some 30% of this population without employment, education or training.
India’s youth face a lack of educational opportunities due to issues of caste, class and gender. Almost 44% of the workforce is illiterate and less than 10% of the working-age population has completed a secondary education. In addition, many secondary school graduates do not have the knowledge and skills to compete in today’s changing job market.
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Sources:
Photo courtesy of Don Bosco South Asia
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