In news– Central Institute of Educational Technology (CIET), a constituent unit under Ministry of Education (MoE), was recently awarded with the UNESCO’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize for the use of ICT in Education for the year 2021.
About UNESCO’s prize-
- This award recognizes innovative approaches in leveraging new technologies to expand educational and lifelong learning opportunities for all, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Goal 4 on Education.
- Established in 2005 with the support of the Kingdom of Bahrain, it rewards individuals and organizations that are implementing outstanding projects and promoting the creative use of technologies to enhance learning, teaching and overall educational performance in the digital age.
- Each prizewinner receives US$ 25,000, a medal and a diploma during a ceremony at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.
- The Director General of UNESCO selects the two laureates based on the recommendation of an independent international jury.
- Along with CIET the digital educational programme Ubongo, launched in Tanzania, was also awarded.
- Every year the Prize has a specific theme, which, while being in line with UNESCO’s mandate and values, advocates for responsible and ethical use of information and communication technologies.
- The 2021 edition is dedicated to a theme whose importance has been highlighted by COVID-19.
- It rewards projects that have used technology to build learning programmes that effectively ensure the continuity and quality of learning in the face of education disruptions.
Central Institute of Educational Technology (CIET)-
- It is a constituent unit of National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) under Department of School Education and Literacy (DOSEL), Ministry of Education (MoE), Government of India.
- It was established in 1984 with the merger of the Centre of Educational Technology (1973) and Department of Teaching Aids (1959).
- Its main objective is to promote educational technology to extend educational opportunities and improve the quality of educational processes at the school level.
- A variety of e-Courses for school and teacher education; organising digital events like online quizzes primarily for students and teachers through leveraging Online/Offline, On-Air technology One Class-One Channel, DIKSHA, ePathshala, NISHTHA, school MOOCs on SWAYAM, etc are done.
- To further the objectives of NEP & Samagra Shiksha and address the aforementioned pillars, PM eVidya- a comprehensive initiative which unifies all efforts and provides multi-mode access to digital/online/on-air education was launched in May 2020.
- The CIET was proactive in taking learning to the doorsteps of the children through the extensive, resilient, ethical, and coherent use of 12 PM eVidya DTH TV channels and nearly 397 radio stations, including community radio stations under the PM eVidya program.
Source: PIB
