Mumbai NGO upgrades teachers’ software skills

Our Correspondent
Kohima, April 23 (EMN): The Indian National Fellowship Centre (INFC), a Mumbai-based nongovernmental organisation, is conducting free Information Technology (IT) workshops for computer teachers in Nagaland.

The 15-daylong workshop, stated to be part of a ‘school linkage’ programme, was inaugurated here on April 23 at the Dr. Neilhouzhü governement higher secondary school at Seikhazou in Kohima.

Three teachers—Nidhi Poddar, Trupti Jadhav, Snehal Sambre of USM’s, Shriram Mantri Vidyanidhi Info Tech Academy—are imparting training to teachers in Kohima, Dimapur, and Wokha starting from April 23 to May 9.

The workshop is sponsored by Saraswat Co-operative Bank.

Addressing the people at the inaugural programme as the event’s ‘special guest,’ Nagaland Governor PB Acharya called Information Technology the ‘best tool’ at hand. He appealed to the teachers and students to make the best out of the training.

With IT knowledge and good education, Acharya said, the country’s youth will be second to none. The youth will not be the job seekers but the job giver, he said.

More than 65% of India’s population are youths and nothing can be more exciting than that, he said. He lauded the central government for introducing various skill programmes for youths.

Speaking about the importance of education, the governor said that the needs of the state should be catered by education. The role of education is to serve the community, strengthen the society, and uplift the poor and the neglected, he said.

The present country’s education system is based on British education where ultimate goal is to become ‘great,’ he said.

‘But one has to change that mindset. Students should be empowered with the right knowledge. They should be trained in such a way that they play an essential role in the society,’ the governor said.

Acharya said that the role of government schools is to grow to strengthen the society. ‘Achievers should be givers and education system should be broadminded and therefore, through the IT system the students will be empowered with the right knowledge to keep up with the ever changing ways of technology,’ he said.

The governor said the workshop, which will also be held in other districts too, will help teachers and students march ahead with the right knowledge and the youths in the future will not be job seekers but job givers.

The state’s advisor to School Education, KT Sukhalu, also addressed the event. He said basic knowledge about the computer and IT starts from the school through initiatives such as the workshop.

Sukhalu pointed that technology was here to stay, to help the people. ‘Today, it is not a luxury to have computers or technology assistance. We all find that mobile phones are so exciting but the basic knowledge of the computer and technology will start from the school through such initiatives,’ he added.

Sukhalu appealed to the teachers to strive to learn new things taught at the workshop and impart that knowledge to their students.

The officer hopes that the upcoming generations will be able to take a step forward with positive use of IT knowledge. He urged the students to have a vision to become ‘somebody someday.’

‘Focusing on quality education, technology can assure a better generation of younger boys and girls who will take a step forward and help in the progress of the state.’

The students who have attended the programme will have a vision to be somebody, someday and through such initiative the goal will be achieved, the officer added.

Nidhi Poddar, one of the resource persons of the INFC, gave a short background about the workshop. She featured a video of similar programmes that have taken place at various government schools.

Poddhar said technology has a way of connecting people, and getting people closer. Applications like WhatsApp, Skype and Facetime have really made people more connected and minimized the distances of reaching out to others.

‘Technology is the next big thing which is necessary in our lives,’ she said. Nidhi felt that the workshop was a new beginning of a new friendship between the people of Nagaland and Maharashtra.