SWAYAM online classroom portal ,  a programme initiated by Government of India in 2017,  has  proved to be an useful digital  guru  to students and teachers across the country during the lockdown period.  Designed to achieve the three cardinal principles of Education Policy viz., access, equity and quality, SWAYAM offers   the best teaching learning resources to all, including the most disadvantaged. SWAYAM seeks to bridge the digital divide for students who have hitherto remained untouched by the digital revolution and have not been able to join the mainstream of the knowledge economy.

Covid 19 pandemic lockdown has created problem for students as educational institutions have been closed down. Online classes are saviours for students who are yearning for knowledge and learning.

Priyadarshini student from Perambalur

The classes hosted on Swayam are based on video lectures, specially prepared reading material, self assessment tests, online discussion for clearing doubts. Steps have been taken to enrich the learning experience by using audio-video and multi-media and state of the art pedagogy / technology. National institute of technology,  Tiruchirapalli has  been made Swayam national coordinator by Union Human resources development ministry,  according to NIT-Trichy Director Mini Shaji Thomas.

She said that SWAYAM has courses from  9th Class till postgraduation. NIT Trichy has been made the tenth national coordinator for Swayam and will take care of engineering classes. Swayam classes are done through platform  that facilitates hosting of all courses which can be accessed by anyone anywhere especially rural areas with internet facility. All the courses are  interactive, prepared by the best teachers in the country and are  available, free of cost to any learner. More than 1,000 specially  chosen faculty and teachers from across the country have made these courses.

Already there are nine National Coordinators for SWAYAM,  All  India Council for Technical Education for self-paced and  international courses,  National Programme on Technology  Enhanced Learning for Engineering,  University Grants  Commission for non-technical post-graduation education,  Consortium for Educational Communication for under-graduate  education,  National Council of Educational Research and  Training for school education,  National Institute of Open 

Schooling for school education,  Indira Gandhi National Open  University for out-of-school students,  Indian Institute of  Management, Bangalore for management studies,  National 

Institute of Technical Teachers Training and Research for Teacher  Training programme. NIT Tiruchirappalli will be the 10th National  coordinator.  Learners wanting a SWAYAM certificate should register for the exams for which a nominal  fee has to be remitted and one should  attend  in-person for the test at designated centres on specified dates. Eligibility for the certificate will be announced on the course page. The current SWAYAM platform is developed by Ministry of Human Resources Development,  IIT Madras with the help of Google and Persistent Systems Ltd.

V Pragatheesh first year MBBS student attending online classes

Smt Ananthy Muthaiyan teacher of SBIOA Matriculation Higher Secondary School Tiruchirapalli says that Swayam is very useful for students in rural areas where they get opportunity to interact with experts in cities. Schools and colleges are already making use of online classes to make over the loss of education because of lockdown due to covid 19. Jayasree a tenth standard student from Trichy school said that the material available in Swayam website are simple and easy to understand with lucid illustrations.  Gayathri tenth standard student from Tiruchi Puthur Uthamanur village said that Swayam gives the feel of the regular classes  for learning especially during lockdown period. S Kousalya postgraduate student of Tiruchirapalli says that the concept of bridging digital divide by central government is a welcome move. Not just students but all those who want to get knowledge can make use of Swayam online learning platform as it is offered free. C Priyadarshini undergraduate student from Perambalur said that Swayam is a one stop digital guide as they get lot of information on every topic .  Tamil Nadu government has given free laptops to students and with internet connectivity one can make use of Swayam online classes, she pointed out.

Reaching the unreached is the motto of the government and imparting education to all by digital means will definitely lead to achieving the vision of knowledge for all.

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