West Bengal government and Schoolnet to promote digital learning

The West Bengal government has tied up with Schoolnet, India’s leading edTech service provider, to drive digital learning and career development programmes.

The partnership will bring about personalised learning solutions for students of government and government-aided schools across West Bengal.

Students can access Geneo eSekha, an online e-learning platform for Classes V to X, through Banglar Shiksha, the official website of the West Bengal education department.

The portal offers educational content in Bengali and is a vernacular extension of Geneo – Schoolnet India's flagship personalised learning solution, designed to make learning simple, smart and effective.

Through enhanced audio-visual pedagogies powered by AI, Geneo eSekha aims to improve students’ critical thinking and retention, with an aim to make study time more enjoyable for everyone.

Key aspects of Geneo eSekha:

• Geneo eSekha has adopted a differentiated and outcome-oriented strategy in order to facilitate ease of learning, which is in sync with schools, and has been created with the requirements of students in West Bengal in mind.
• The curriculum is based on the pillars of learning, application, revision and assessment in the mother-language medium so as to make it accessible to the students of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (Madhyamik board).
• Schoolnet along with the West Bengal government, has envisaged a system where students can keep pace with what is happening in school on their own.
• Geneo eSekha has been designed in sync with the West Bengal Primary and Secondary Board curriculum.
• The interactive digital learning platform covers Science, Mathematics and English for students of Classes V to VIII and English, Mathematics, Physical Science, Life Science, History and Geography for Classes IX and X.
• The latest West Bengal State Board textbooks will be presented in a digital format, allowing students to re-learn what they learned at school.
• Geneo eSekha offers multi-modal options for blended learning.
• At every stage of learning, students can enjoy access to subject experts, in order to clarify doubts, as well as further strengthen their knowledge.
• The portal also allows for self-assessments, and revisions, ahead of examinations.

“The significant rise and acceptance of online learning in the last one year has led to swift digitisation of our education system. We have been taking several steps to ensure that we are able to provide quality education to the students of West Bengal. We are pleased to partner with Schoolnet in reaching out to students across the state to bring rich and interactive multilingual learning solutions that complement the school curriculum,” a senior official of the education department said.

Banglar Shiksha will also allow students to access CareerPath — a unique career guidance and counselling solution for students of Classes VIII to XI. Considering the provisions of the National Education Policy 2020, CareerPath will provide professional academic and career counselling to all students. They will also offer access to counsellors to ensure physical, psychological and emotional well-being.

Speaking about the partnership, Goutam Maiti, vice-president of Schoolnet, said, “We share a joint vision to enable every child in the state to succeed. Digital learning, especially at the middle and bottom of the pyramid, is of utmost importance to elevate the quality of education imparted, as well as provide opportunities for enhanced learning. We are grateful to chief minister Mamata Banerjee for her support in enabling us to achieve our goals, and we look forward to the government’s continued assistance to reach each and every student.”