“Bring technology into school system”

PUDUCHERRY: “Little changes are happening in schools. To make changes, we need to bring in technology appropriately into the school system, in teaching and into the world of education,” Senior Principal of St. John’s International Residential School, Chennai R. Kishore Kumar said on Thursday.

At a “meet for mentors,” an initiative of The Hindu - Newspaper in Education (NIE), 80 correspondents, principals and coordinators from 60 schools in Puducherry, Cuddalore, Villupuram and Neyveli came together for an interaction with two experts.

Mr. Kumar said changes in social, cultural, lifestyle, economy and mindset of the people had impact on education. “We are not aware of the impact in education. Are we stirring the system of education to the future? There are three greater impacts that of explosion of population, explosion of knowledge and explosion of scientific development,” he stated.

Insisting on the need that every student should have capacity for self-learning, he said, “From mechanical schooling, we should move to a holistic education, innovative and learning-oriented education.” Quoting from UNESCO’s report on education, he said the four pillars of education were learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together and learning to be. “There should be concentration on multiple intelligence in the schools. As of now, there is concentration only on linguistic intelligence. There are a lot of areas our children ought to develop,” he observed. He said only education could counter any kind of disaster, including terrorism.

Managing Director of Ma Foi Group and Randstad India K. Pandia Rajan said there were changes in the global political system, economic system and social system.

“To shape young minds and hearts, you need to allow your own minds and hearts to be shaped,” he said. Out of students who pass out engineering colleges, 22 per cent do not get jobs for a year and 10 per cent do not get employment for two years, he added.

“Update yourselves in the first place. The portals of learning are the key things to make a difference. In a year, e-learning will be gripping the country,” he said.

The representatives from various schools interacted with the two experts on the occasion.