Goa CM Launches Online E-Learning Platform: DISHTAVO

On October 5, 2020, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant launched the Digital Integrated System for Holistic Teaching and Virtual Orientations (DISHTAVO), an online e-learning platform that is accessible to all.

Sawant stated that Goa is the first state in the country to take the entire academic syllabus of higher education to an online platform. He also added that Goa is the first state to offer online training for teachers.

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In the inaugural function, Sawant said that around 3,500 videos have been recorded out of which 1,000 videos have been uploaded. Around 2,500 videos are being edited. He also mentioned that by the time the channel completes a year, over 20,000 videos would be made ready.

DISHTAVO is designed in a way that students can access it 24 X 7. The Director of Higher Education, Prasad Lolayekar said that if someone doesn’t have access to an internet network, they can download the video when they are in range and watch it later. 

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The online platform is initiated to cover the entire syllabus in the online course. Hence reference books and other study materials were also provided in the video description.

A video script is also provided which states what kind of assignments students are expected to do. Around 12,000 teachers from all the colleges are involved in the project to create videos.

Lolayekar added that Goa University and Chowgule University helped the government to set up DISHTAVO, which is one of the DHE projects aimed at making learning accessible to all. 

Sawant stated that many people have approached the Directorate of Higher Education (DHE) to set up channels costing several crores. But DHE had successfully launched DISSHTAVO for a few thousand.

He also stated that the government is planning e-Mitra,

 a facility in which students who do not get a network will be paired with one with a network so that they could learn through DISHTAVO. 

This facility is initiated because in a recent survey it is found that the slow internet connectivity in the state’s remote area is the main barrier in the e-learning scenario.

Sawant mentioned that he liked the e-Mitra concept of DHE which makes the channel accessible to everyone.

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