Thane Municipal Corporation Partners with EdIndia to Digitally Skill 8000 Teachers

·         Two days Online Teacher Training conducted on 17th and 18th June

·         8000 teachers from 850 odd schools to participate in the training

Mumbai, 19th June: Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has partnered with EdIndia Foundation, to bolster the capacity of its 8000 teachers spread across 850 odd schools across the district. As an initial scheme of the partnership, Thane Municipal Corporation and EdIndia Foundation hosted a 2-day Online Teacher Training, for 8000 teachers to help them adapt to the new technology-driven teaching model in the post-COVID19 scenario. 

As the COVID-19 pandemic advances, with no sight of an immediate solution to stop the spread, there is uncertainty on when the schools will reopen. This not only disrupts the continuity of learning for the 250 million children in India but also endangers their psychosocial and mental wellbeing. TMC invited experts in the 2-day Online Teacher Training programme to sensitise teachers around concerns such as mental health and child protection. The online training which will be streamed live on Youtube and Pragyan app will also prepare teachers to adopt different technology tools and platforms in their transition to online schooling for continuity of learnings.

Acknowledging that teachers require support, Mr. Manish Joshi, Deputy Commissioner Thane Municipal Corporation, said “The pandemic has forced us into remote learning which has technical, pedagogical and instructional challenges. I am glad that we could forge a partnership with EdIndia. With their expertise, we can now strengthen teachers' capacity on technology and better classroom delivery. The whole event is the brainchild of Mr. Rajesh Kankal Education officer of Thane Municipal corporation who felt that to conduct classes, keep students engaged and continue teaching in an effective way, a re-orientation on online pedagogies and tools is required”.

Sonakshi Agarwal, CEO of EdIndia Foundation, while appreciating the opportunity to aid this cause, said. “We are in a precarious situation due to the pandemic, and it is imperative that we all stakeholders come together, work side by side on all our children’s education, protection and well-being. The training will capacitate teachers to embrace technology, nurture child well-being and prepare for post-COVID-19 challenges and innovations”.

About EdIndia

EdIndia Foundation, an ed tech non-profit supported by Sterlite Power, leverages ed-tech to impact education at scale. It is incubated by Sterlite Power Group Companies and works nationally with field offices in Rajasthan and Maharashtra. It focusses on teacher support in government schools and has provided access to its teacher reference App “Pragyan” for all TMC teachers. The Android App, which is available at Playstore, has curated digital resources as per state syllabus and aids the teacher to conduct a virtual class.

Mumbai Municipal Corporation and EdIndia Launch Virtual Training of 21,000 Teachers

Mumbai, 9^th June,2020: Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) in collaboration with EdIndia Foundation, an edtech non-profit supported by Sterlite Power, kickstarted its 3-day online training for 21,000 MCGM teachers to prepare them for teaching through online and blended platforms. The training also focussed on sensitizing the teacher to the “New Normal” post COVID and the need for healthy emotional and mental well-being of children when they return to studies after a long break.

As schools are shut across the country due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, children in schools have lost their routines, spaces, social networks, and resources critical for learning. School shutdowns could not only cause disproportionate learning losses for these students—compounding existing gaps—but also lead to dropouts. A UNESCO report states that the pandemic will adversely impact over 290 million students across 22 countries. The 3-day webinar was set-up to strengthen the capabilities of the teachers to identify appropriate digital tools and resources to deliver online lessons effectively. It also focused on helping children to mitigate emotional or mental vulnerabilities due to the lockdown.

Elaborating on the partnership Sonakshi Agarwal, Director, EdIndia, said “We need to democratize access to quality education for all strata of the society. Today, technology plays a significant role in teachers’ professional development. I am very proud of our collaboration with MCGM for this training programme. It will help the teachers to embrace technology and make their teaching methods more effective for school children.”

Introducing the session, Honourable Kishori Pednekar, Mayor of Mumbai talked about the hard work of teachers and welcomed everyone to the webinar. She appreciated the initiative which ensures continuity of education. Ms. Anjali Naik, Chairperson, Education Committee and Mr. Ashutosh Salil, Joint Municipal Commissioner, MCGM also addressed the inaugural session.

The inaugural webinar, managed by EdIndia and streamed on YouTube,  was attended by 9000 odd  teachers on Day 1.  21000 teachers will be trained during the 3 days. This is a first-of-its-kind training which focuses on online teaching and emotional needs of both teachers and children.

EdIndia Foundation also provided access to its virtual learning Android App "Pragyan" for all MCGM teachers. The App has digital resources as per state syllabus and is a virtual classroom for training of teachers.

About EdIndia

EdIndia Foundation (EIF), is an edtech non-profit supported by Sterlite Power which is focused towards building capacities of teachers, across the country by leveraging technology and data analytics at scale. It is incubated by Sterlite Power Group Companies and is currently working in Rajasthan and Maharashtra.