Karnataka government signs MoU with J-PAL South Asia to provide technology-based quality school education

According to the MoU, J-Pal South Asia will set up a ‘Learning Lab’ to solve some of the biggest challenges in school education through science and data. The ‘learning lab’ will enable global research insights to shape Karnataka’s school education policies while giving fresh impetus to scientific evaluations of new and existing school education programmes through randomised evaluations.

With an aim to provide quality education to school children right from pre-primary level with the help of technology and to accelerate and scale policy innovations in school education, the government of Karnataka has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) South Asia, a technology company, on October 9.

The MoU was signed by K.N. Ramesh, State Project Director, Samagra Shikshana Karnataka, Department of School Education and Literacy, and Shobhini Mukerji, Executive Director, J-PAL South Asia, in the presence of Minister for School Education and Literacy Madhu Bangarappa and J-PAL Global Executive Director Iqbal Dhaliwal.

According to the MoU, J-Pal South Asia will set up a ‘Learning Lab’ to solve some of the biggest challenges in school education through science and data. The ‘learning lab’ will enable global research insights to shape Karnataka’s school education policies while giving fresh impetus to scientific evaluations of new and existing school education programmes through randomised evaluations.

The Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL) will leverage J-PAL South Asia’s technical expertise to identify, adapt, and implement school education interventions effective in strengthening foundational learning and reducing learning gaps. This effort stands to benefit children across age groups, from early childhood to adolescence.

Mr. Bangarappa said due to lack of technology, children in government schools and rural areas are lagging behind in learning. “It also affected their SSLC exam result. Also, when these children complete SSLC and come to urban areas for higher education or employment, they are left behind without proper skills. Therefore, the Chief Minister had also announced in the State budget about imparting technology based education to the school children. Keeping all these factors in mind, an agreement has been made to provide quality education right from the pre-school level,” he said.

According to the MoU, J-PAL South Asia will explore ways to integrate ‘Every Child Counts’, a game-based math curriculum, into their pre-primary school curriculum — Chili Pili Plus. It will also serve as a knowledge and research partner on ‘Maru Sinchana’ and Ganitha-Ganaka, programmes to improve learning outcomes for the children of classes 3 to 8.

“J-PAL will support the learning of students in three phases. Chili Pili Plus programme will be implemented for pre-primary students. Ganitha-Ganaka will be implemented for classes 3, 4 and 5 students. According to this, the teacher will call the students through phone and help them to solve the mathematics problems. In this case, all the calls made by the teacher to the students are recorded. And, call charges for teachers are paid by Sarvashiksha Karnataka. And, Maru Sinchan programme, which is the revision of the lesson, will be implemented for students of classes 6, 7 and 8. The company will provide necessary technology and training to teachers for implementation of all these programmes. This programmes will be covered by 93 blocks across the State in the first phase,” Mr. Bangarappa explained.