HRD ministry launches 32 educational channels for students that will help them understand the concepts through interactive content including pictures, videos and diagrams. Indian students would be able to watch educational channels which will be launch by Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry for students of School and University in which three channels are devoted to IIT aspirants which include the live telecast of lectures from six IITs and some other top institutions while seated in their living rooms.
The HRD Ministry set to launch 32 Direct-to-Home (DTH) channels to accommodate the need of the students. In the month of August, HRD ministry gave clearance to a Scheme called Swayam Prabha which describes the proposal of providing educational channels to the students. The highlight of the scheme is that the content of these channels has been prepared by IIT professors and other experts.
- The Swayam Prabha scheme consists of allowing 32 DTH television channels to broadcast programs for the students of School and University. The main motive to introduce the program is to provide a clear and an understandable content to the students.
- If the students have any doubt regarding the content, they can clear their doubts through a toll-free helpline number. Presently the channels are being provided by Doordarshan and Dish TV.
- The HRD ministry has appointed subjects experts to provide good quality content who will be paid on an hourly basis. To make the study more interactive, the content will have pictures, videos, and diagrams to help the students understand the concept well.
- The ministry is planning to broadcast live classroom lectures from IIT Mumbai, Delhi, Kharagpur, and Kanpur. Sources said that ministry is likely to launch the campaign on social media to create more awareness about these channels so that more students will be able to know about this scheme and will get the benefit of it.
“Although more than three crore youth are pursuing higher education, the standard of education is not uniform, raising the issue of quality access to knowledge. Youth in the backwards pockets of India need a fair deal in accessing high-quality knowledge to confidently enter the job market. This scheme will help them to learn and understand key concepts while sitting at home,” a senior ministry official said.
However, it seems that not every student would be able to acquire the services. According to reliable sources Direct to Home (DTH) service provider asked money from the government to broadcast the educational channels.
“The channels are being provided on Doordarshan and Dish and we are still trying to negotiate with the other providers. They are asking for Rs 5 crore per year for every channel which is not feasible,” said a senior HRD official.
