Nishant Saxena

The UP Basic Education Department has signed an agreement with IIT-Madras under the project “Vidya Shakti” to provide online teaching to students in Varanasi’s government smart schools. The IIT Madras instructors will begin teaching math, science, and English to the students of 100 government smart schools in Varanasi initially as a pilot project, and it is expected to provide jobs to about 100 people.

Earlier, the Uttar Pradesh Basic Education Council issued a notification making it compulsory to promote all students in Council schools from Class 1–8 to the next class without exams.

According to official sources, this partnership is part of the Yogi Adityanath government’s efforts to bring UP government schools on par with the public schools operating in the state. The government’s efforts began with Project Kayakalp, which spruced up the infrastructure of government schools, and now all facilities are being arranged to meet the standards of smart schools. Most schools now have smart classes, according to basic education officer Arvind Pathak.

Pathak has been quoted as saying that the contract with IIT-Madras would enable IIT faculty to provide online classes for students in classes 6–8 studying in Varanasi government schools. He explained that the classes would be conducted after regular school hours. Pathak stated that of the 100 schools chosen in Varanasi to run the pilot project, 70 had smart classes. He added that the remaining 30 schools will soon be elevated to the standard of smart schools with the help of IIT-Madras, which will appoint a local coordinator in each school covered under Project Vidya Shakti for technical support. At least 100 people will get jobs, and the expenses will be borne by IIT-Madras, according to Pathak.

Meanwhile, the notification issued to promote students of UP Basic Education Council schools is an annual event since the Right to Education Act allows children in grades 1–8 to be promoted to the next grade without fail under any circumstances.