Booting on to a programme of artificial intelligence (AI), Punjab Government, from August 16, will weekly assess the performance of the government school students from Class I to V to help them improve their “weak points”.
For this purpose, Punjab Government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with edtech platform, ConveGenius, to strengthen the Department of School Education’s blended learning program — the art of combining digital learning tools with more traditional classroom face-to-face teaching.
The artificial intelligence-based edtech platform uses interactive, child-friendly, and adaptive learning methods that can be accessed through a WhatsApp chatbot, tablets, or computer labs in schools.
As a part of the program, weekly assessments will be conducted for primary grades, and students can learn at their own pace, following the curriculum as per the state board.
“The aim of the course is to reduce the learning gap among students from the low-resource setting and make up for the loss in education that has occurred due to the shutdown of schools amid the COVID pandemic,” said a senior official of the State Education Department.
The official said that the weekly assessments will identify the students’ “weak points”, while providing the content recommendations based on the work required in those particular areas.
The programme would also enable every stakeholder in the state education system to monitor student performances from an individual level to the district level as well as curate better teaching practices.
“The MoU would help in expanding the Government’s efforts to provide quality education to the students in the State. The association will strengthen the Department of School Education’s blended learning program,” said the official.
State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) director Jagtar Singh Kularia said: “When the pandemic started, the biggest challenge we faced was tackling the lack of resources for online classes. However, we received a positive response from our collaboration with ConveGenius for the Patiala district. Now, we know the most practical solution for our students.”
“The platform will help students across the State to access foundational learning activities in subjects like Mathematics, Punjabi, English, and Science by using one smartphone. Since multiple users can access their classes from one Whatsapp number, it becomes even more accessible to students in rural areas and lower-middle-class families. We are awaiting the results to be reflected in the entire state,” he said.
In 2020 amidst COVID-19, the model was launched only in Patiala district but has now been extended across the State.
“Last year, the model was launched in Patiala district and we received great feedback from all stakeholders. The program is being extended across the State, in spite of the fact that the schools will be reopened once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted,” said ConveGenius program head Rahul Garg.
He said: “ConveGenius has achieved a completion rate of about 98 percent in every state and we aim to see similar results in Punjab.”
The ConveGenius claimed that more than 18 million monthly active students have been registered with it across several states.
