Principal Secretary (School Education) Praveen Prakash on Wednesday (October 25) said that the Andhra Pradesh government was paving the way for the introduction of International Baccalaureate (IB) syllabus in the State-run schools.
Referring to a meeting held between an IB delegation comprising the organisation’s development and recognition manager, India and Nepal Mahesh Balakrishnan, director of marketing and communication Amy Parker and director of global business development Haif Bannayan and senior department officials of the State on October 23 (Monday), the Principal Secretary said that the roadmap for the IB-AP joint certification for students of Classes 10 and 12 was discussed.
Besides changes in the syllabus, the government is exploring the possibility of undertaking other innovative programmes in the State-run schools, he said.
‘Digital Teacher’
Mr. Praveen Prakash also met the senior officials of the Spanish and German Embassies, including Deputy Head of Mission Spain Elena Perez-Villanueva del Caz, Education Attache Manic Eugena and Matthias Stahle and held discussions on the development of AI-generated “Digital Teacher” for teaching German and Spanish languages.
He said the government was collaborating with Spanish and German Embassies to introduce AI-generated ‘Digital Teacher’ to teach Spanish and German lessons to students in Andhra Pradesh. “This will open up new job opportunities for the students abroad,” he said.
Mr. Praveen Prakash also met Hotmail founder Sabeer Bhatia and later said that an entrepreneurship course tailored for the students of Classes 9 to 12, developed by Mr. Bhatia would be made available in the State-run schools.
Performance assessment test
The first State Education Achievement Survey (SEAS) will be conducted on November 3 by the National Assessment regulator PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development), an organisation that works under the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
The survey, covering 11 million students across the country to identify areas requiring improvement in learning, will be a precursor to the Union Education Ministry’s annual National Achievement Survey (NAS).
“SEAS is designed to enhance learning standards for students in Classes 3, 6 and 9. It encompasses a comprehensive range of competencies spanning the foundational, preparatory and middle stages of education,” said Mr. Praveen Prakash.
Six lakh students studying in Classes 3, 6 and 9 in Andhra Pradesh would take the assessment survey examination in English medium, he said.
He said that since these students, without having attempted any State-level examination in English medium, but now would be writing it at the national level for the first time, were bound to be nervous. Even the teachers would feel the same since their performance would be assessed at the national level, he said, urging the district Collectors and District Education Officers to organise mock tests till November 2 to enable the students and teachers practice the assessment test.
