The Karnataka government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) South Asia to provide high-quality, tech-enabled education in all schools across the state. Initiated on 9 October, the partnership will look at improving educational outcomes from pre-primary levels as well as speed up innovations in school education policies.
The agreement was signed by K.N. Ramesh, State Project Director of Samagra Shikshana Karnataka, Department of School Education and Literacy, with Shobhini Mukerji, Executive Director of J-PAL South Asia, in the presence of Minister for School Education and Literacy Madhu Bangarappa and J-PAL Global Executive Director Iqbal Dhaliwal.
J-PAL South Asia will establish a 'Learning Lab', under the MoU, to dissect salient challenges in the Karnataka state education system using scientific and data-based reasoning. The lab will use global knowledge from research to streamline education policy in Karnataka and scientifically evaluate new and ongoing school programs through randomized evaluations. The Department of School Education and Literacy will now associate with J-PAL in implementing the education intervention focusing on foundational learning and filling in age gaps across the early childhood to adolescence stages. Minister Bangarappa said the educational resources were way too different between the government and rural schools. They never caught up with learning due to a lack of access to technology; this led to poor SSLC exam results and subsequent prospects. These children, when they join urban centers for higher education or employment, leave those places behind without the proper skill set, said he. The partnership with J-PAL South Asia would fit in with the Chief Minister's budgetary promise of bringing in technology-based education into schools.
Every Child Counts' is going to form a part of the pre-primary curriculum through the Chili Pili Plus initiative in the form of pioneering game-based math curriculum. An important initiative is also working on two programs, 'Maru Sinchana' and 'Ganitha Ganaka', focusing on the enhancement of learning outcomes of children from class 3 to class 8. The organization will act as the research partner of these programs. The collaboration is likely to help students from three phases. At the pre-primary level, there will be the Chili Pili Plus program. The Ganitha-Ganaka program will be for classes 3, 4, and 5 in which teachers will guide students over phone calls with math problems. All calls between teachers and students will be recorded and call charges will be provided by Sarva Shiksha Karnataka. The Maru Sinchana program is a lesson revision for classes 6 to 8.
According to Bangarappa, in the first phase, the program shall be rolled out across 93 blocks in Karnataka and J-PAL will provide the needed technology and training to teachers to allow them to implement this program without any hindrances.
Shobhini Mukerji, Executive Director J-PAL South Asia says, "While enrolling children into schools is very important, it also crucial to ensure that the children are learning. It is aptly said that program effectiveness has to be shown at the gates of the school, and not from the rooftops. It is critical to implement programs with proven effectiveness to help our children learn and succeed. The DSEL has set a strong example for others to follow", she stated.
This is a new initiative that can be considered the first step in changing the way education is imparted in Karnataka by using technology-enabled resources to bridge learning gaps and improve the quality of education not only in government schools but also in rural areas.
