In a first-of-its-kind, unique initiative, the Madhya Pradesh government will soon introduce an Artificial Intelligence course for students from class 8, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced on Sunday. The AI course in Madhya Pradesh classrooms will be 24-hour-long duration. The decision was taken during the state cabinet’s special ‘brainstorming’ session held in Pachmarhi.
Apart from AI course for young students, a flurry of other schemes were discussed during the two-day session, the PTI report said. From setting up Sanjivani clinics to ramping up transportation infrastructure in rural areas, Shivraj Singh Chouhan Cabinet is also set to launch a veterinary telemedicine facility in the state.
The AI course announcement comes at a time when the schools are reopening after the hiatus of two years with many students already used to the ‘online’ mode of learning.
According to a UNESCO report released in 2021, there are about 1.2 lakh single-teacher schools in India, of which 89 per cent are in rural areas. The report states that the country needs 11.16 lakh additional teachers to meet this shortfall. AI can easily help overcome the dearth of teachers. It can make education more accessible for one and all.
Experts say that with the growing population, it is difficult for a single teacher to know and act/improve upon every student’s needs and skills. However, AI programs and learning apps, on the other hand, can assess every student’s learning graph and help them guide and train on their weaknesses.
It should be noted that virtual learning has not always been a primary mode of learning in the Indian education system. However, the coronavirus pandemic coerced students and teachers from private as well as government schools, into relying on technology for virtual learning. Artificial Intelligence could help build an effortless system of learning which could come in handy if in the future the world falls prey to another crisis-like situation as was at the time of the Covid outbreak.