Dr Subhash Garg, Hon’ble Minister, Technical Education, Government of Rajasthan suggested that the policy makers should impart proper training to students in order to prepare them for industry. Industry must develop a platform to upskill the rural students, he added. Dr Garg further advised the Government to provide 100% financing to the education sector.

Dr M P Poonia, Vice Chairman, All India Council for Technical Education, Government of India remarked that the educational institutions should impart quality content to combat the challenge of unutilised infrastructure. We must join hands to improve the students’ core competency, practical skills, mindset and connect to society, he said.

Mr Shreevats Jaipuria, Chairperson, CII NR Committee on Education and Vice Chairman, Jaipuria Institute of Management and Seth M.R. Jaipuria Schools remarked that robust infrastructure where both digital and physical platforms play equally important roles would be need of the hour in the new normal. Focus on increased use of technology in education is essential to counter tough situations like COVID 19, he emphasised.

Ms Garima Babbar, Co-Chairperson, CII NR Committee on Education and Head Education Initiatives India and South Asia, Adobe shared that the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, has put special emphasis on online and digital education. This will pave the way for EdTech to be increasingly integrated into India’s education system and enable new and more cost-efficient methods of running educational programmes, content distribution and consumption, she explained.

Prof (Ms) Bairbre Redmond, International Higher Education Consultant, Dublin, Ireland Good educational technology is just part of the answer to student success. Academics also need support to develop better teaching skills, effective assessment approaches and curriculum design skills to achieve transformational online student learning.

Mr Akash Chaudhary, Managing Director & Co-Promoter, Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL) emphasised that Physical learning cannot be replaced by online learning. A blend of both with digital being an additive force to physical learning will be the true contributor for education.