The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MTA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Microsoft to support the digital transformation of schools such as Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) and Ashram schools, among others under the Ministry at an online event ‘Empowering Youth For Success’.  Under the affirmative action initiative, Microsoft will make the AI curriculum available to tribal students in both English and Hindi at all EMRS schools under the Ministry to skill educators and students in next-generation technologies including Artificial Intelligence.  

The event was graced by the union minister of tribal affairs, Arjun Munda; union minister of state for tribal affairs Smt Renuka Saruta, secretary, Tribal Affairs, Anil Jha and Shri Navtez Bal, Executive Director- Public Sector, Microsoft India and senior officers of the Ministry and EMRS. Speaking at the event, Minister for Tribal Affairs Shri Arjun Munda said that our students need to get ready to compete at the global level. “This program will prove beneficial in terms of readiness, preparedness of our students at various international forums. Through these programs, our students would get the required skill set through digital transformation and this would open a new chapter with AI and coding being a part of the curriculum,” he said.

Munda also added that for the digital India Mission to be successful every segment of the society needs to be empowered and he hoped that this Microsoft program would be able to bridge the gap between the tribal students and others.

Speaking on occasion Renuka Singh Saruta, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs said that this is a unique opportunity for the tribal students to get global standard education and to get a level playing field.
“This initiative can be a great help to the tribal students for maintaining continuity in their education in this lockdown period. What is great about the program is that not only the students but 5000 teachers nominated by the ministry across these schools would be provided with professional training,” she added.

Under this program in the first phase, 250 EMRS schools have been adopted by Microsoft out of which 50 EMRS schools will be given intensive training and 500 master trainers would be trained in the first phase.

Teachers across states in India will be trained in a phased manner for using productivity technologies like Office 365 and AI applications in teaching, helping them deliver blended or remote learning experiences to students in a more personalized, productive and secure manner. Teacher training will introduce them to the world of virtual collaboration and how teaching can be augmented with virtual field trips or remote sessions with experts. The program will also offer opportunities for teachers to earn professional e-badges and e-certificates from the Microsoft Education Centre.

Speaking about the partnership, Navtez Bal, Executive Director, Public Sector, Microsoft India, said “The past year in both policy and practice has shown us that the future of learning will be more personalized and driven by technology. Our partnership with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs is a step to enable education equity, providing equal opportunity and access for the next generation of learners and educators from schools under the Ministry. We are deeply committed to the digital transformation of education in India and to support a community who will play a key role in shaping India's next phase of growth.”

Under the partnership, students from schools under the ministry will be mentored on projects that involve AI applications for societal good and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Students will also be trained and exposed to gamified environments on Minecraft to help build design thinking skills. To enable inclusion and access, Microsoft will make the AI curriculum available to the schools and students in both English and Hindi.