The two-day ‘Professional Development Program’ for science teachers organised jointly by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC, United Kingdom), Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati and Innovation Science & Technology Foundation (ISTF) began at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan campus here on Tuesday. Around 90 science teachers from the Rayalaseema districts are participating in the two-day event.
Addressing the teachers after inaugurating the event, IISER registrar K. Vijayamohanan Pillai appreciated the initiative to train science teachers at the school level to enhance their subject knowledge in order to make learning science a ‘joyful experience’.
While hailing the scientific fraternity for its path-breaking initiatives, Mr. Pillai expressed concern over the dilemma the scientists found themselves in, as scientific advancement is invariably intertwined with a negative impact on the environment and society..
ISTF president and SRM University’s executive director (research) D. Narayana Rao hailed the National Research Foundation (NRF) Bill 2023 for fully utilising India’s research contributions. “India of the next 25 years will be very different from what it is,” he envisaged.
Karima Anjum C.S. from the RSC emphasised doing away with rote learning, especially in the field of science, and encouraging high school students to learn basic sciences, who she felt were primarily interested in engineering and medicine. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s honorary director N. Satyanarayana stressed on innovating teachers’ pedagogy to attract students towards the sciences.
ISTF Secretary T. Narayana Rao and SVU former vice-chancellor P. Murali also spoke.
