Innovation should become a culture in school education, says Samagra Shiksha official

Additional State Project Director, Samagra Shiksha, MR Prasanna Kumar said on Thursday that academic knowledge alone cannot shape a complete personality. “Students should be equipped with the ability to think critically, solve problems and innovate,” he said while speaking at the inauguration of the two-day ‘Innovation, Design and Entrepreneurship’ training workshop at Siddhartha Deemed University in Vijayawada.

Mr. Prasanna Kumar said that innovation, design and entrepreneurship should be integrated into the curriculum from Class 6 onwards and emphasized that innovation should become a culture in all schools and universities.

He emphasized the need to teach students to become thinkers, designers and entrepreneurs who will contribute meaningfully to the growth of the country. He said every school and every classroom should foster discussions about innovation and provide opportunities for students to showcase their ideas at science fairs and similar events. If this is encouraged, India, currently the fourth largest economy, could reach the first place by 2027, he said.

Deputy Director Innovation, Innovation Cell, AICTE (Ministry of Education) Elangovan Kariappan praised Andhra Pradesh for setting up School Innovation Councils in 50% of schools in the state. He recalled that last year, three student projects from the state were showcased at the national level. Dr. Kariappan announced that the participants in this program will be determined as Regional Innovation Ambassadors who will play an active role in transforming regions into innovation centers and schools into innovation laboratories.

The educational workshop is being organized with the joint support of Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, Government of India, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Samagra Shiksha, PM SHRI, National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), School Innovation Council and Wadhwani Foundation.

The meeting was attended by IT department head and vice-president (Research Technology and Development), Siddhartha Deemed University M. Sunita, head (Higher Education) and vice-chancellor AV Ratna Prasad, representative of Wadhwani Foundation and others.