November 27, 2006, 12:00 am
Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has decided to launch a satellite education programme in schools across the country from next year.
An initiative of the vocational education department, CBSE, specific lessons would be transmitted through satellite from various regional offices of the board under the programme.
�We have tied up with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and NCERT to frame the syllabus and framework of this programme,� said Shashi Bhushan, HoD of vocational education, CBSE.
While NCERT is developing the curriculum, ISRO would help use modern space technology for promotion of education and training. To be propagated through Edusat, the satellite education wing run by ISRO, ministry of human resource development and Indira Gandhi National Open University, the programme would begin through teachers� training programmes and later reach classrooms.
The programme would be managed by six regional offices of CBSE located in Allahabad, Guwahati, Chennai, Chandigarh and Ajmer. Schools in Jharkhand would come under the Allahabad centre.
�The regional offices would also be equipped with the latest technology to carry on with the programme once they are launched,� said Bhushan.
Schools in the steel city are yet to receive any notification on this issue from the board, though.
Taking another initiative, the CBSE has decided to launch three new papers � financial market management, general healthcare and fashion designing � under the vocational category for Plus-II students from 2007.
�The basic idea behind introducing the courses is to prepare students, especially from the middle and lower-middle income groups, to meet the growing demand for young professionals in BPOs and call centres,� said Bhushan.
�Healthcare and fashion designing were already in the syllabus, but this time the entire syllabus would be revamped to suit the industry needs,� said Bhushan.
While students taking up the healthcare course would be trained to get jobs in healthcare sector, the CBSE is expecting to get a large number of its students placed in the growing fashion industry as well. A few schools have received circulars for the new courses.
