– Ronita Torcato
The 200 plus educators in attendance at Navneet Education Limited’s gala event held in Mumbai were in for a pleasant surprise with Navneet Toptech, a 100 percent subsidiary of the 80 year old publishing and stationery company, offering free subscription of their latest edutech innovation for an entire year.
The event, attended by school principals and senior teachers (along with 600 online) marked the launch of NavneetAI today with a number of panel discussions on education and new technology.
Dr Anil Patil, chairperson, Rayat Shikshan Sanstha, Satara and chief guest, said that the institution founded by his grandfather Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil in 1919 with Rs 80 and eight castes ( in a single school), now had as many as 187 sub-castes among the 21,50,000 students enrolled in 34 colleges.
Several adverse features affecting the noble profession were outlined, such as, the award of extraordinarily high marks to students — some scoring even 100 in the language exam, “This must change…”
Also highlighted was the lack of gainful employment. He cited by way of example, “Vacancies of 260 low ranking cops which attracted highly qualified applicants. 250 porter vacancies had lakhs applying. For railway posts, crores apply.”
Sunil Gala, Navneet’s managing director said teachers are the foundation of the nation and expressed satisfaction that 2,500 teachers were provided with laptops under their Gurukul project. The company publishes over 5000 titles in English, Hindi, Marathi, and Gujarati. He noted that previously, health and education were the preferred choice but “today both are industries…This year over eight lakh students went abroad. Why?”
He also stressed the importance of research and the need to look to the future for gainful student employment which could be addressed by conducting IQ tests and career guidance.
“Every student must be multi skilled and employable,” he said, sadly noting that most students use mobiles for over 6 hours daily.
Navneet Toptech CEO Harshil Gala said 4,000 schools were given digital platforms by the company. “The legacy of Navneet is to serve schools with the aim of going beyond traditional teaching methods,” he said.
Nihar Pandit, product head spoke on generative AI which could help teachers be creative educators since AI gives more options.
Navneet Toptech’s main product, a learning management system, has been an asset in CBSE classrooms across Maharashtra and Gujarat. The LMS helps teachers to go beyond the traditional chalk and board method by providing a digital platform for lesson planning, assessment, and student tracking.
