DoSE signs MoU with NagaEd to enhance digital education in Nagaland

Dimapur, Oct. 4 (EMN): With an aim to develop a digital delivery model for schools across Nagaland, the department of School Education has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NagaEd, a leading digital education provider.

According to the MoU signed by Principal Director of School Education, Shanavas C and NagaEd Co-founder, Shiroi Lily Shaiza, both the parties will develop strategies to effectively provide digital education services to students, teachers, and institutes in Nagaland.

NagaEd will also provide consulting, research, and advisory services to the department in order to develop the digital delivery model of the state, said an update received on Monday.

“NagaEd and the department have been collaborating since last year. During the pandemic, the Department was on the lookout for programmes that could provide continuous learning to students as the whole world went under lockdown. Gradually, we started producing and uploading educational videos for all the classes through our YouTube and Facebook pages,” Shavanas was quoted as saying.

“In the process, NagaEd and the department worked together to develop a software solution where they were able to channelise all the video and resources to a school-specific approach wherein they could directly connect with the students and monitor their learning. So far, we are happy with how the work is progressing, and we trust that they will bring our vision of developing a digital delivery model to fruition,” he added.

The parties found out through its online and offline surveys, which were conducted to understand the learning and teaching conditions of students, parents and teachers during the pandemic, that some prefer the process involved in remote learning but many believe that digital learning is still a distant dream.

“This undertaking is a giant step forward in the education system of Nagaland. The transition to digital education is not a question of if, but when. We understand that these are difficult times for students, parents and teachers. We are working closely with the department to provide quality digital distance learning and teaching solutions that empower educators and prepare students for the future of work. We look forward to working with the department to develop a digital delivery model that will benefit the parents, teachers and students of the state,” said Shaiza about the collaboration.

The update went on to inform that the School Education department was recently approved for implementation of a $68 million (INR503 crore) project funded by the World Bank to improve and enhance government schools in Nagaland.

“As part of the project, Nagaland: Enhancing Classroom Teaching and Resources (NECTAR), the department will strengthen digital platforms for learning and teaching and education management information systems, enabling wider access to education resources, supporting professional development and performance evaluation systems for teachers and education managers, facilitate school leadership and management, and support examination reforms,” read the update.

As schools are in the transition to new learning models caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the School Education department has encouraged students and teachers to make use of the free educational resources curated by NagaEd via www.nagaed.com/free-resources.