Government schools in Telangana to get AI boost under Samagra Siksha Abhiyan

Hyderabad: Students of the State boards are all set to get their hands on to study Artificial Intelligence (AI) like their counterparts studying under Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). According to sources, a proposal to this effect will be made part of the Samagra Siksha Abhiyan (SSS) to rope in the students studying from Classes VIII under the state syllabus on par with their counterparts of CBSE and other Central boards.

Speaking to The Hans India, a senior official of the State Education Department said that the CBSE has already initiated the AI integration in its syllabus. The initiative was launched under the aegis of the Union HRD Ministry under the project 'twin initiative'.

It is being implemented by CBSE, National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) and Intel. Adding, the first step made was to roll out the project for Classes VIII, IX and X. Then, the second step was to link the AI in integration with other subjects being taught to the students like English, Mathematics and the like.

However, it is further proposed to create AI awareness starting from the Classes I to VI. For this, the Union HRD ministry sees high potential among the huge number of students studying under state syllabus. To bring parity among the students of both the central and state boards, now, it was proposed to be taught to students of the State boards. However, training of teachers of the schools from the State boards on AI is a pre-requisite to roll out the programme. Further, funding to establish necessary infrastructure is another issue which needs to be addressed. That apart, unlike central boards, while secondary education and the intermediate courses are being regulated by different boards in the State. "A proposal of the Union HRD Ministry to merge both the boards to make them a single unit like their counterparts remained a pending issue," he said.

Against this backdrop, the first step of introducing AI from Class VIII to the students of the state boards, modalities, change of syllabus, funding and other issues are expected to come up during the ensuing meeting with the union officials, he said.