Tamil Nadu Government and Microsoft strengthen collaboration to accelerate cloud technology adoption in education

As a part of the agreement, Microsoft will adopt seven schools identified by the government and train their teachers and students around building 21st century skills which includes critical thinking, creative coding & gaming, app development, robotics, and entrepreneurship. Microsoft will also offer its Microsoft Innovative Educator Program to all educators in primary, secondary, vocational and tertiary education across the state. Additionally, the company will train and provide a digital literacy certification District Education Officers (DEOs) in Tamil Nadu.

Talking of the agreement, K.A. Sengottaiyan, Minister for School Education, Government of Tamil Nadu said,” We are committed to harnessing the power of the technology to reform education in Tamil Nadu and make our youth future-ready with the essential digital skills. We have a longstanding partnership with Microsoft and believe their expertise in this area makes them an ideal partner for our transformational initiatives.”

Building educator capacity

Microsoft will provide resources, free tools & software, as well as online professional development specifically tailored for educators through its Partners in Learning Network.  The company has so far trained 48,000 teachers in Tamil Nadu on usage of ICT in education. From this skilled ecosystem, the company will now further train a set of 500 school teachers as ‘master trainers’ over next few months . These master trainers willin turn enable  their peers state-wide. In addition to offering a fundamental understanding of computers and productivity software, the comprehensive Microsoft Teaching with Technology (TwT) Curriculum program will empower educators with a deeper knowledge of how technology integration can enhance the teaching and learning experience, equipping students with 21st-century skills. All educators of Tamil Nadu will be eligible to seek certification as Microsoft Certified Educators and apply for the elite Microsoft Expert Educator program.

Building administrator capacity

The company will also impart training to  District Education Officers (DEOs) over a the next few few months. The DEOs will further percolate  technology usage to the schools and staff  in their districts. The Digital Literacy Curriculum will be available both online and offline and provide the officers the opportunity to be internationally certified on various Microsoft Technologies.

Manish Prakash, Country General Manager - Public Sector, Health & Education, Microsoft India, said, “At Microsoft we believe that education is the single-most important investment in the future of individuals, and key to the growth of a nation.  We are deeply invested in empowering India’s education ecosystem with technology, necessary for success in the 21st century. The combination of quality content, partnerships, capacity building of teachers and administrators is as essential for this as access to technology We are delighted to continue our collaboration with the state of Tamil Nadu in this journey.”