The Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD), has recently launched ‘Bharat Padhe Online Campaign’ and the ‘YUKTI web-portal’. These initiatives are intended to bolster and monitor the online education ecosystem in India. Largely focused on the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, both initiatives aim to create an improved learning environment through digital platforms.
The ‘Bharat Padhe Online’ Campaign
‘Bharat Padhe Online’ is a campaign that ran for a week until the 16th of April, 2020. This collaborative initiative was designed with the intention of crowdsourcing ideas to enhance the online education ecosystem in India. It sought participation from the best minds across the country to submit their suggestions or solutions directly to the HRD Ministry.
The aim was to overcome the challenges posed by online education while simultaneously promoting the available digital education platforms. Students and teachers were the primary target audience for this initiative.
Introduction to YUKTI Portal
YUKTI, an acronym for ‘Young India Combating Covid with Knowledge, Technology and Innovation’, is a unique and innovative portal. The YUKTI web portal also features a dashboard that allows for efficient monitoring and recording of the efforts and initiatives of the HRD Ministry.
The portal covers a broad range of areas. These include various initiatives taken by academic institutions, research – especially related to Covid-19, societal initiatives undertaken by institutions and measures implemented for overall student wellbeing.
Role of YUKTI Portal
Moreover, the portal establishes a two-way communication channel between the Ministry of HRD and the associated institutions. This feature allows the Ministry to provide necessary support to these institutions.
Further, the portal addresses critical issues such as student promotion policies, challenges related to placements and physical and mental well-being of students during these challenging times.
Objectives of the YUKTI Portal
The YUKTI portal has been designed with key objectives in mind. It is expected to provide insights for enhanced planning and to enable effective monitoring of its activities over the next six months. The portal also aims to achieve the goals of the Ministry in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The ultimate objective is to maintain the physical and mental well-being of the academic community, while ensuring a continuous high-quality learning environment for learners.
The recent initiatives by the Ministry of HRD can be seen as a timely response to the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. As the education sector rapidly moves towards online platforms for learning, the measures taken by the Ministry could significantly contribute to enhancing and monitoring the digital education ecosystem in India.
