Maharashtra Links Up with Google to Provide remote learning tools to all students and teachers

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to keep students out of the classroom, the Maharashtra School Education Department announced on Thursday its partnership with the tech giant, Google, to deliver blended learning programs to over 2.3 crore students from 1 lakh government and private schools in the state.

The partnership will provide all teachers and students with a G Suite ID to facilitate remote learning.

Under the ID, teachers will have unlimited cloud storage to allow them to develop content and make it accessible to students at a later date.

Teachers can also use Google Classrooms and Meet to take part in live classes and create, review and organize assignments.

The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) will also provide teacher training through the platform.

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Minister of Education, Varsha Gaikwad said, "The current crisis can be transformed into an opportunity. We have always believed in the power of the Internet to bring education to the masses and reduce the learning gap. I envisage a blended learning environment in which students mix face-to-face learning with online learning that delivers content in both synchronized and synchronized formats, and technology can play a vital role if all teachers and students can benefit from it. We have not yet been able to reach out to every student in Maharashtra, but we are committed to providing equitable access. The Government will continue to work with the community, NGOs and schools to address this issue.”

Last month, the government launched a survey asking state teachers to register for the first batch of training programs and Google received 150,000 registrations in less than 48 hours.

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The program will be accessible in three domains, one for local government and body schools, private aided schools and private unaided schools.

Teach from Home, the Google Information Center for Technology Tool Information is also available in Marathi.

Uddhav Thackeray, Chief Minister of Education at the virtual launch, said, "In a crisis when the world is at a standstill, re-starting education is one of the primary concerns we face today. I feel that this global crisis has brought us from the present to the future. And so I'm proud to say today that Maharashtra is the first country to launch G Suite for Education and Google Classroom.

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