I want BBMP schools to be a model for others to follow: CM H D Kumaraswamy

BENGALURU: In what is being touted as a first in the world, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) schools in the city will now be part of a connected learning community enabling 21st century learning. The aim is to coach students to be future-ready making state-of-the-art level education accessible to all, including those from marginalised sectors. The initiative, ‘Project Roshini’, a joint venture between the BBMP, Microsoft and Tech Avant-Garde, a technology solutions company, was launched in the city on Tuesday.

At the event, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said that the initiative will encourage students from all social backgrounds to join BBMP schools. “My vision is to make BBMP institutions so advanced that they become beacons for other schools to follow,” he said. It will create a connected learning community enabling collaboration between campuses, students, parents and teachers. “This will help launch a new era of education that will foster holistic academic excellence along with practical experience to succeed in life, work and growing knowledge economy,” he said.

In addition to syllabus-based teaching, the project will impart holistic education by including sports, arts, space science, heritage, world culture, ecology and sustainability. Experiential learning will be introduced, school infrastructure will be improved to the highest standards and teachers will be trained with 21st century skills. Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwar said it will bring a paradigm shift in the learning experience for students. “We will soon be proud of having world-class government educational institutions in Bengaluru,” he said.

Tech Avant-Garde CEO Ali Sait said that it is high time the methodology of imparting education is redefined. “The brick-and-mortar infrastructure of the past must give way to a futuristic, technology-enriched one, where learning must be from any part of the world, on any device,” he said.

The schools will be equipped with world class infrastructure and state-of-the-art-technology, using Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Robotics, apart from Cloud, Internet of Things and others. Students will be trained to be environmentally, culturally and socially adept. A comprehensive survey is in progress to audit the number of teachers, students and infrastructure. Also, Advisory Committee, Management Council and Governing Council are being finalised. Training the teachers has also begun, officials stated.