EDUSAT programme went live at the Government Institute of Printing Technology and 31 government polytechnics in the State on Monday.
The programme, which was officially launched in August, is aimed at bridging the gap in teaching infrastructure between rural and urban students. The programme is being delivered with assistance from Indian Space Research Organisation and Visvesvaraya Technological University.
Higher Education Minister R.V. Deshpande, who launched the live telecast of the English communication class on Monday, said that the main aim was to benefit students in rural and backward places. It will reach all 68,000 students in 292 polytechnics (81 government, 44 aided, and the others private) in phases, he said.
A schedule for the live classes has been drawn up for regular classes in the 32 polytechnics until this month-end.
Department of Technical Education officials said that the classes, which will re-commence in January, will, in all probability, be interactive. The classes are being delivered by highly experienced faculty, they said and added that each subject, delivered through the EDUSAT programme, required a minimum of five hours.
A student, Manjunath Karolli, said, “Live classes are useful if we can ask our doubts. As of now, we can get extra points for our lessons from them.” Teachers, on the other hand, said that the move was beneficial to them as well. Renuka Naidu, principal of the Government Film and Television Institute, said that digital classes would benefit teachers who are new and those classrooms where there are no teachers.
During an interaction with principals of various polytechnics after the launch, the Minister rued about the lack of innovation in polytechnics compared to the engineering colleges, as also in teaching standards in polytechnics. “There should be continuous training for teachers,” Mr. Deshpande added.
