3-Day Video Translation Workshop Concludes At SCERT

Sample videos to be sent to NCERT, Dikhsha for quality assessment

Farooq Shah

 

SRINAGAR: The three-day video translation workshop aiming to make digital educational content available to the students of Jammu and Kashmir in local languages concluded in the conference hall of the SCERT’s divisional office here today at Bemina.

 

Some half a dozen educational and IT experts translated at least 10 videos which would be presented before the NCERT and Team Dikhsha, Ministry of Education, Government of India for quality assessment. This will set into motion the process of translating some 1800 videos produced by TicTacLearn—an initiative supported by Central Square Foundation (CSF) and Google.org.

 

TicTacLearn has created one of the largest open-source repositories of high-quality curriculum aligned digital learning resource comprising some 12,000 videos available free of cost for everyone.

 

Director SCERT, J&K, Prof Veena Pandita, said the workshop will allow the participants to spend more time to practice new skills.

 

“The workshop will allow the participants the time to reflect, both individually and with others, to learn a brand new skill set needed for efficient translation of the content,” she said. “Whatever is available is either not of good quality or is unaffordable to our students.

 

SCERT, Prof Pandita said, would translate high quality, animated, pedagogically sound, curriculum aligned (NCERT) Maths and Science content in three languages viz. Urdu, Kashmiri and Dogri.

 

The videos, once translated, will be hosted on Dikhsha portal wherefrom they will be accessible to a student after scanning a QR Code energised in their textbooks.

 

Quoting a survey conducted by a software company, State Coordinator Nishtha on Dikhsha, Peerzada Bashir Ahmad, said that 93% of teachers believe that the use of educational videos improves the learning experience.

 

“The use of videos in teaching and learning serves to not only benefit students, but also teachers, their affiliated institutions, and the entire school system,” Ahmad said. “It also serves to break down barriers, such as student and campus location, which were once unassailable.”

 

A technical expert with the Dikhsha, Riyaz Ahmad Reshi, said the students belonging to Grades 1-5 would benefit from the digital content to be made available in the languages they know and understand better.

 

Pertinently, the newly launched education policy aka NEP 2020 prioritises universal foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) in primary school and beyond by 2027.

 “The availability of digital content in local languages will aid the basic learning namely reading, writing, and arithmetic at the foundational level,” Reshi said.

For school teachers, the digital content would facilitate the teaching-learning process in a more congenial way.  “The use of short video clips allows for more efficient processing and memory recall,” Javed Hassan Sofi, who works as an IT expert with Diksha, said.

 

According to the Sajjad Akbar Rather, State IT expert with Dikhsha, the visual and auditory nature of videos, especially based on attractive animation, appeals to students and allows them to process information in a way that’s natural to them.

 

For Anjali Om Raina, a teacher educator, the workshop was a personal learning experience. “The workshop has, to a great extent, done away with my regimental approach to the classroom,” she said. “Blended learning is something every teacher must get himself/herself acquainted with.”

   

Another teacher educator, Roohi Sultana, says the days of chalk-and-talk method of teaching are over. “Videos in vernacular language will provide a safer learning environment, increased student engagement and more autonomy over their learning,” Sultana said.

 

Tariq Manzoor Khan, who teaches at a primary school, said a “flipped classroom” approach is the need of the hour. “One of the biggest advantages of digital learning is that it allows teachers to cater their learning plans or curriculum to the individual student,” Khan said. “The workshop is a step towards achieving this objective.”

 

Suhail Farooq, Program Coordinator and Ghulam Nabi Sheikh, Assistant Program Coordinator thanked the participants for making the workshop a success. 

Media Links:

1. https://www.risingkashmir.com/-3-day-video-translation-workshop-concludes-at-SCERT-92687

2. https://indiaeducationdiary.in/3-day-video-translation-workshop-concludes-at-scert-sample-videos-to-be-sent-to-ncert-dikhsha-for-quality-assessment/

3. https://www.pressreader.com/india/kashmir-observer/20210930/281900186368483

4. https://www.pressreader.com/india/kashmir-observer/20210930/281900186368483

SCERT’s Workshop On Shina language Highlights Utility Of Mother Tongue

Government must provide funds to uplift Shina language: Ex Div Com

Farooq Shah

SRINAGAR: The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Kashmir Division, Tuesday invited many Shina language experts to participate in a three-day workshop entitled "Shina Language Script Learning"  in Gurez—a valley located in the north Kashmir's Bandipore district some 123 kilometres from here.

The 'Education in Languages' Wing of the SCERT had rushed in a team of academic officers to train some 35 participants in content development in Shina language—a provision enshrined in the newly introduced education policy aka NEP-2020.

Former Divisional Commissioner Kashmir and Director School Education Kashmir, Masood Hassan Samoon, who is a native of Gurez and is well-versed with Shina language, was the guest of honour at the event. Other language experts included a former Zonal Education Officer, Niyaz Ahmad Mapnoo and a Pratham NGO activist, Bilal Ahmad Sheikh besides academic officer, SCERT, Ashfaq Anjum.

The workshop, which is being conducted at Boys Higher Secondary School, Dawar, was earlier inaugurated by Principal Secretary, School Education, B K Singh via Zoom. Director SCERT, J&K, Professor Veena Pandita, also attended the event from her Jammu office.

Highlighting the importance of mother tongue, B K Singh stressed upon the participants to uplift Shina in a manner that it becomes a guiding force for the entire Shina community.

 “Mother tongue is provides a definite shape to our emotions and thoughts,” Singh said. “Learning in your mother tongue is crucial in building up of other skills namely critical thinking, learning a second language etc.”

Prof Pandita said that mother tongue has a huge influence in defining the personality of an individual. “It’s not a healthy sign to learn any language on the expense of your mother tongue,” She said. “Knowing your mother tongue is a matter of pride that helps you connect with your cultural identity in a better manner.”

NEP 2020, Prof Pandita said, stresses on learning mother tongue along with other languages. “Early schooling in a child's mother tongue can improve learning, increase student participation and help reduce the number of dropouts,” she said.

While underling the causes why it couldn’t develop into a full-fledged language, Masood Samoon lamented the lack of a proper script of Shina language for the documentation purpose.

 “Largely, it remained confined to some of the inaccessible pockets among many mountainous regions,” Samoon said. “Moreover, it’s a pretty difficult language and all the previous attempts to frame its script failed due to many reasons.”

A successful script, he said, is the one that has computer compatibility and sadly Shina can’t be written on a computer.

 “We need to introduce the learning of Shina language via some android app which has a tri-lingual facility to make the words, phrases and sentences understand easily with audio and video help,” Samoon recommended. “I can work as a think-tank only but the major component would be to finance such project.”

He said he has already worked on the grammar component of Shina language and is currently dedicating his time on building its dictionary.

 “I’ve already prepared the textbooks for the grades 4, 5 and 6,” Samoon said. “Because the task ahead is gigantic, it would invariably require a total commitment from all the stakeholders in preparing the textbooks from grade 1 to 12.”

The workshop will go on for another two days wherein the participants shall learn more on how the language would be taken on board to frame textbooks for Shina speaking children.

Dr Shabnum from the SCERT, Kashmir Division, coordinated the workshop.

Shina is a language from the Dardic sub-group of the Indo-Aryan family spoken by the Shina people and there still is not a standard orthography associated with the language. A number of schemes have been proposed and there is no single writing system used by all of the speakers of the Shina language.

Media Links:

1. https://kashmirobserver.net/2021/09/21/scerts-workshop-on-shina-language-highlights-utility-of-mother-tongue/
2. SCERT's Workshop On Shina language Highlights Utility Of Mot... | MENAFN.COM 
3. https://www.risingkashmir.com/-SCERT-organises-workshop-on-Shina-language-92305

SCERT’s Video Translation Workshop Aims At Producing Vernacular Content

1800 Videos to be made available in Urdu, Kashmiri and Dogri: Experts 

Farooq Shah

SRINAGAR: Aiming to make digital educational content available to the students of Jammu and Kashmir in vernacular languages—Urdu, Kashmiri and Dogri—the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), J&K, is organising a three-day workshop from September 27-29 at its divisional office in Bemina here today.

Some half a dozen educational and IT experts are in the process of translating at least 10 videos to be presented before the NCERT and Team Dikhsha, Ministry of Education, Government of India for assessing their quality. This will invariably pave the way for translating some 1800 videos produced by TicTacLearn—an initiative supported by Central Square Foundation (CSF) and Google.org.

Director SCERT, J&K, Prof Veena Pandita, said that lack of digital vernacular school content affected tens of thousands of students across Jammu and Kashmir.

 “Whatever is available is either not of good quality or is unaffordable to our students,” she said. “We’ve decided to translate high quality, animated, pedagogically sound, curriculum aligned (NCERT) Maths and Science content in three languages viz. Urdu, Kashmiri and Dogri.”

Technical expert with Dikhsha, Riyaz Ahmad Reshi, said the tool available on Dikhsha platform enables registered users to upload videos online to be translated into any target language.

 “The videos, once translated, will be hosted on Dikhsha portal where from they will be accessible to a student after scanning a QR Code energised in their textbooks,” Reshi said. “Students belonging to Grades 1-5 will benefit from the learning material available in the languages they know and understand better.”

Pertinently, the newly launched education policy aka NEP 2020 prioritises universal foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) in primary school and beyond by 2027.

 “The availability of digital content in vernacular languages will aid the basic learning, namely reading, writing, and arithmetic at the foundational level,” Reshi said.

A participant described the content available as of now as ‘haphazard’ and ‘fortuitous’. “Translating professional content will certainly make things easy not only for a teacher but for a student as well,” Roohi Sultana, a middle school teacher said.

Another teacher, Anjali Raina, while echoing Sultana’s views said the availability of high quality digital content in vernacular languages will lighten the burden of teachers in many respects. “Sometimes, it’s exceedingly difficult for a teacher to get to the level of a child,” Raina said. “Because most the content to be translated is animation based, it will help do away with the monotony and instil student participation with interest.”

The workshop will go on for another two days wherein the participants would scan as many videos as possible for translation into vernacular languages.

Pertinently, TicTacLearn has created one of the largest open-source repositories of high-quality curriculum aligned digital learning resources comprising some 12,000 videos available free of cost for everyone.

Media Links:

1. https://kashmirobserver.net/2021/09/27/scerts-video-translation-workshop-aims-at-producing-vernacular-content/
2. https://kashmir.pz10.com/2021/09/scerts-video-translation-workshop-aims.html
3. https://www.risingkashmir.com/-3-day-video-translation-workshop-concludes-at-SCERT-92687

Workshop On RTE Act Rules Concludes at SCERT Jammu

 Reported By Lovely Sharma

JAMMU: A three-day e- workshop conducted by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), regarding the framing of rules and guidelines for implementation of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 concluded here today.

Scores of senior academic officers of the SCERT participated in the workshop wherein the Head of the Educational Studies Department, Central University, Jammu, Dr. J.N. Baliya and former director School Education Kashmir, Mohammad Rafi were invited as experts. The workshop was e-inaugurated by Director SCERT, J&K, Professor, Veena Pandita.

Pertinently, Department of Law, Government of Kammu and Kashmir, has vetted the rules with regard to the Act and accordingly submitted to the competent authority for approval. The GAD, in response, constituted a committee headed by its Commissioner Secretary to scrutinize the J&K RTE Rules 2020 for financial and other implications to ensure that the requirements of JKUT are appropriately taken care of. The constituted committee has submitted its preliminary report.

The SCERT, in this regard, was asked to conduct a series of workshops while inviting experts, educationists and other stakeholders for comprehensive consultations on the preliminary report and the rules. A four-day workshop at Srinagar on September 10 was the first in the series. The recommendations and the reservations would be sent in the form of a document to the competent authority for approval. 

Participants of Hindi Diwas Celebrations Pledge Love For Languages

Nothing taught by force can stay in the soul: B K Singh

Farooq Shah

SRINAGAR: “Forcing someone to learn a language could be quite counterproductive,” B K Singh, Principal Secretary, Department of School Education, said at the Hindi Diwas celebratory function organised by the “Education in Languages” Wing of the State Council of Education Research and Training (SCERT) at the auditorium of the Government Girls Higher Secondary School Kothibagh here today.

Hindi Diwas is observed on September 14 every year to celebrate its popularity and mark its adoption in the Devanagari script as one of the official languages of India.

“It’s the love for the language that can be a defining factor in its acquisition,” Singh told the audience via a Zoom meeting. “Language offers the most direct link to other cultures, and nurtures an admiration for their traditions, religions, arts, and their history.”

Hindi, Singh said, is the second most spoken language in the world after Mandarin Chinese. “With over half a billion people speaking this wonderful language worldwide, it should become a natural choice for a student to learn it,” he remarked.

Earlier, Director SCERT, Prof Veena Pandita, while welcoming the participants to the celebration said that Hindi, apart from being our national language, holds its own dignified importance at the international level also. She also participated in the program via Zoom.

 “Students from Russia, Japan, and the United States are always eager and ready to come to India to know our language and culture,” Prof Pandita said. “From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, every class of person speaks and understands Hindi language easily.”

Prof Pandita lamented that in this era of changing circumstances and modernity, the influence of the English language has started gaining ground. “The modern generation is adopting a foreign language by calling Hindi the ‘language of the illiterates’,” she said. “Earlier, where the medium of English was not much in the schools, but the progressive people of the modern era consider it an ‘honour’ to take education through English medium.”

This, Prof Pandita said, has resulted in Hindi taking a backseat. “Children neither know how to write nor speak Hindi properly,” She said. “It is the mistake of Indians to deny the importance of Hindi being an Indian.”

Hindi, she said, was a language that embraced words of every language. “We are not against the English language, but we cannot tolerate the disappearance of the pride of Hindi language, that is, our national language,” she said. “Today we celebrate “Hindi Pakhwada” in all the offices to keep the respect of our language intact.”

In his address, Director School Education Kashmir, Dr Tasaduq Hussain, said that we should get rid of the notion that a language is the sole property of a religion.

 “Because all languages are filled with their own sweetness, we must cultivate a taste for as many languages as we can,” Dr Hussain, while recommending that Hindi should be taught right from grade-1, said. “Because we live in India where a majority of its population speaks Hindi, we ought to learn it with a more open and frank attitude.”

Dr Hussain, while giving the example of Munshi Prem Chand said that many Hindus adopted Urdu language as the medium of their expression and earned worldwide acclaim in the process. “Greater understanding of a language, in turn, promotes greater tolerance, empathy, and acceptance of others.”

Dr Bhartendu Kumar Pathak, Assistant Professor, Department of Hindi, University of Kashmir, impressed upon learning Hindi language to stay connected with the rest of India in a more meaningful manner.

 “The biggest advantage of learning Hindi is that it enables wider communication with a large number of people in India and, in turn, it can help generate trade and ideas.”

According to Dr Pathak, the situation here has improved a great deal and it was paramount that Hindi picked pace in Kashmir.

Prof Syed Shabana Shabir, who teaches Hindi at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Education (IASE) Srinagar, spoke on the objectives of teaching Hindi at different levels.

 “One of the main objectives of teaching Hindi is to create an interest among the students in the language and literature and also to master the art of communication” Prof Shabana said. “Hindi is the national language of India so students should be motivated to study this language.”

Ms Veneet Kour, Research scholar, Department of Hindi, University of Kashmir, said while today’s youth are grappling with numerous unemployment challenges, Hindi can open more doors to career avenues.

Dr Mukti Sharma, Teacher, BMS Mattan Bala, said the entire nomenclature of Hindi language has to undergo a metamorphosis in the sense that it acquires more pace on the communicative front.

Others who spoke at the occasion included, Ulfat Jan, Lecturer, SP Higher Secondary School Srinagar, Neetu Singh Bhat, Teacher, GMS Rambagh, Indu Raina, Teacher, GMS Natipora, Renu Raina, Teacher, BHS Sonwar, Veena Kaul Ganjoo, Teacher, GMS Hutmuraha Mattan, Manjoo Kaul, GMS Seer Shaksaz, Veena Tikoo Sapru, Teacher, GHS Anantnag, Renu Rani, Raj Janak, Teacher, Zone Pampore, Ishrat Fatima and Richi Kumari, Students, GHSS Amirakadal Srinagar.

Media Links:

1. https://kashmirobserver.net/2021/09/14/participants-of-hindi-diwas-celebrations-pledge-love-for-languages/
2. https://www.thekashmirmonitor.net/participants-of-hindi-diwas-celebrations-pledge-love-for-languages/

To Implement RTE-2009, SCERT Seeks Expert Guidance To Frame Rules, Regulations

 

Implementation of the Act mandatorily required in the UT of J&K: Prof Pandita

Farooq Shah

SRINAGAR: The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Jammu and Kashmir Thursday invited scores of academicians and experts to participate in a 3-day workshop regarding framing rules and guidelines for the implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.

The workshop, which is taking place at the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE) auditorium, was earlier inaugurated by the director SCERT, J&K, Prof Veena Pandita. Former Director School Education Kashmir, Mohammad Rafi who is also the chairperson of the advisory council to private schools’ association and Principal Degree College, Pampore, Prof Seema Naz are among a galaxy of experts participating in the workshop. Senior JKBOSE officials including Assistant Director Academics Dr Arif Jan and Joint Secretary Publications, Prof Abdul Wahid Makhdoomi, also participated in the workshop.

Prof Pandita hailed the decision of the School Education Department in entrusting the responsibility of holding the workshop cum consultative meet to the SCERT, J&K for seeking valuable suggestions on the RTE Act, Rules 2020 drafted by School Education Department and vetted by Department of Law (J&PA).

Pertinently, the (RTE) Act, 2009 has been extended to the UT of J&K under the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019. The Act focuses on compulsory and free education to all children up to the age of 14. It has special provisions for admission of out-of-school children including the enhancement of learning abilities of children at an early age.

Prof Pandita impressed upon the participants to thoroughly examine the draft of RTE Act Rules, 2020 and provide candid suggestions required for incorporating in the draft RTE Act so that the same could be submitted to the School Education Department for making the required necessary changes.

 “The implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act is mandatorily required in the UT of J&K at the earliest in the best interest of the children at par with other states/UTs wherein the said Act is being already implemented in letter and spirit,” she remarked

While tracing the history of many different Acts with regard to education in the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir right from the time Maharaja Hari Singh ruled here, Ex Director School Education, Mohammad Rafi, said that (RTE) Act 2009 was replete with opportunities and entitlements that we’ve sadly been unable to cash on.

 “I’ve read the Act and we can implement it with our eyes shut,” Rafi, while hailing the Act as “futuristic and flexible document”, said. “Actually, this act provides a wide range of entitlements, rights, facilities, concessions, incentives and protections for the children.”

He said the contextualization of the educational requirements of our children is very much heeded in the Act.

“The Act offers us a host of liberties including framing our own curriculum as per our local needs,” Rafi, while appreciating the open-mindedness of the government in passing the Act, said.

 “There has been a lot of unnecessary delay in its implementation which we can only lament on,” Rafi remarked. “I hope the outcome of this workshop will facilitate a speedy implementation of the Act.

Principal Degree College, Pampore, Prof Seema Naz, outlined various challenges including decline in enrolment in government-run schools.

 “The implementation of the much-needed Act assumes greater significance in the light of a steep decline in the enrolment vis-à-vis a catastrophic dropout rate in the government schools,” Prof Naz said.

Dr. Mudasir Gul of the Education Research and Survey Assessment (ERSA) Wing of the SCERT, Srinagar showcased many Powerpoint presentations during the discussion that helped the participants to lay a firm grip on the subject.

The participants deliberated for several hours in the second session of the workshop and the outcome of the workshop would be presented to the government in the shape of a document. 

Media Links:

1. https://kashmirreader.com/2021/09/10/scert-seeks-expert-guidance-for-framing-rules-regulations-to-implement-rte-2009/
2. https://indiaeducationdiary.in/scert-seeks-expert-guidance-for-framing-rules-regulations-to-implement-rte-2009/
3. https://kashmirobserver.net/2021/09/09/scert-seeks-expert-guidance-to-frame-rules-regulations-on-rte-act/
4.