The Government of Andhra Pradesh signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with edX, a global E-learning platform that conducts Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), on February 16 (Friday).
The MoU helps 12 lakh students pick and pursue their chosen verticals from more than 2,000 modern and emerging courses free of cost.
The MoU was signed by the officials of the Higher Education Department and edX founder Anant Agarwal, in the presence of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy at his camp office at Tadepalli, near here.
The programme was virtually witnessed by the Vice-Chancellors and students of 26 universities.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy said the MoU was just the beginning of a new era.
“It is necessary to make a beginning somewhere, though it may take four to five years to get the desired result. The signing of the MoU will usher in a golden chapter in the history of education in Andhra Pradesh as it helps students get international joint certification from edX and Harvard, MIT, Oxford, and Cambridge universities and other world educational institutions,” he said.
Modern courses
The students could learn locally unavailable courses such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Data Sciences, real estate management, cyber forensics, stock exchange, wealth and risk management, and other modern verticals, the Chief Minister said.
“Students face competition not just with others in the country but with those across the globe. World-standard education alone gives them a bright future. Quality education makes our students globally competitive and fetchs them high-end salaried jobs in top-notch companies,” he said, adding, “Right to education is an old slogan, but right to quality education is the present-day necessity.”
The Chief Minister said steps were being taken to transform the educational system from the elementary to the higher education level.
“From introduction of English medium schools, filling of teacher posts, launching podcasts to getting National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) affiliation to 180 educational institutions, the government has been working with dedication as it believes that investment in human resources is one of our key priority sectors,” he said.
IB curriculum
The government had recently signed an MoU with International Baccalaureate (IB) to introduce its curriculum for the students of Class I from the academic year 2025-26 in government schools, and teachers would undergo training from the next academic year, he said, adding that the journey of reforms to make our students globally competitive would continue.
Stating that Sri Padmavati University introduced full-fledged courses in AI, computer vision and meta verse learning, the Chief Minister asked the Vice-Chancellors of other universities to follow suit and introduce modern courses in augmented technology and 3D learning, and improve the online learning capabilities of students.
Education Minister B. Satyanarayana, Chief Secretary K.S. Jawahar Reddy, and A.P. State Council of Higher Education Chairman K. Hemachandra Reddy were among the host of officials present.
