How colleges will tie up with start-ups under NEAT

The Union Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry plans to launch an initiative that will allow colleges and universities to directly access the latest and best educational content created by start-ups and private companies, according to an official aware of the development.

The course modules could range from new advances say in the field of artificial intelligence, programming language or any other evolving area where cutting edge research is on.

The official said the National Educational Alliance for Technology (NEAT) is aimed at utilising the educational solutions developed in the private sector to make learning faster and easier. “It is expected that the scheme will be approved within this month and the first of these course modules will be rolled out by the year-end,” the official said.

NEAT is aimed at taking the concept of HRD ministry’s Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS) platform a step ahead, the official added.

Online courses developed by leading institutions are available to students on the platform across the country for which they get also credits in degree courses they are pursuing.

The official said as part of NEAT, the HRD ministry will identify edu-tech solutions needed. The content that meets the required standard would be selected after due publicity, the official added.

A public portal would be maintained to provide a one-stop access of these technologies to all the interested students. “It is planned that the selected entities will have to offer free coupons to the extent of 25% of the total registrations of their products through the NEAT portal. The free coupons will be administered in a way as to provide free access to socially and economically deprived students,” the official said.

The All India Council for Technical Education will be the implementing agency for the scheme under the guidance of an apex committee constituted by the HRD ministry.

Only those content creators capable of using artificial intelligence to measure standards of the learners and creating modules, which can expedite learning, will qualify, the official said.

Courses that offer certification in highly marketable skills and improve employability of students will also be eligible.

“It is a new kind of Public Private Partnership model for the education sector. An important aspect is that while they will get a platform, the educational content creators should not expect any government grants and will meet the costs of developing solutions themselves,” the official said.

Selected education providers, who have been chosen by an apex committee, will give an undertaking to provide free coupons and sign up.

The HRD ministry will also carry out an awareness drive about NEAT through its network of higher education institutions. Also, there would be a periodic review of these modules, the official said.

“Not only PPP within India but international cooperation is required in this area. With rapid advances in AI, big data algorithms, striding advances in biotechnology and bioengineering India shall be left far behind unless it makes serious efforts to incorporate such advances into its curricular frameworks. MOOCs of course can play a pioneering role in this,” said Prof Inder Mohan Kapahy, eminent educationists.