JAMMU: The government has initiated a slew of measures under its Samagra Shiksha programme to facilitate students of Jammu and Kashmir with complete access to education through technological interventions and other viable means in the wake of COVID-19 lockdown.
Virtual Classes: During the prevailing conditions of pandemic and subsequent Lockdown, all the educational institutes have been closed. In order to maintain the continuity of education delivery to students several steps are being taken which inter alia included ‘ Radio Classrooms in association with Mirchi 98.7 wherein Live Lectures are being broadcasted daily between 2 pm to 4 pm, Tele Classes on DD Kashir and Local Cable Network, Video Lectures Repository using JK Knowledge Network (existing knowledge dissemination portal under Samagra Shiksha), Online Classes including Vocational Classes using freely available Applications like Zoom, Promoting use of National Educational Portals like e-Paathshala and DIKSHA through various means and Created Special Whatsapp Groups for interacting with Children with Special needs through Special Educators.
Free Laptops & Braille Tactile Readers for Visually Impaired: Under one of the major initiatives, 42 Laptops are being distributed among Resource Rooms established for Children with Special Needs in all the districts of J&K. These Laptops shall be connected with Braille Tactile Reader machines thereby enabling Visually Impaired students/persons to freely access internet.
JK Career Portal: First of its kind online Career Guidance Portal “Manzelein” was launched for students of J&K in association with UNICEF which is a structured and well programmed portal developed to help students in choosing a right career after completing their secondary or higher secondary education. It will have complete information on 550+ careers, 21000+ colleges and 262,000 programs in 16 countries. In addition, it will have information on 1150+ entrance exams and 1120+ scholarships.” Besides, it can also guide the children on available skill-based courses and NSQF compliant curriculums being offered across the country. The portal can be accessed at “https://jkcareerportal.org” wherein students can log on to the portal with their enrolment IDs issued by JKBOSE
Distribution of Free Tabs: About 2500 Tabs were distributed among students during Covid period who can use these Tabs for attending online classes, accessing online content available on e-Paathshala/DIKSHA and other activities during the Lockdown and even beyond.
Free Textbooks: Funds to the tune of Rs. 2030.87 Lakh released to Directorates of School Education Jammu and Kashmir for purchase and distribution of books for children under elementary level as RTE Entitlements.
Capacity building Virtual Online Workshop for DIET: Faculty conducted through Webinars on Audio Video Editing, Content development, Pedagogy and Andragogy in collaboration with Kavilaya Education. Social Media: Enormous promotion is being made regarding ongoing Webinars, Educational Sessions, Tele Classes etc by National and International organizations like NCERT, NIOS, Google Education, UNICEF India, IGNOU etc.

KR Desk