AP govt to sign agreement with edX to offer free global courses

Vijayawada: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy took another revolutionary initiative by offering international educational courses for free to students in AP.

An agreement would be signed between the AP government and edX in the presence of the CM at 11 am on Friday at the CM’s Camp office in Tadepalli.

The officials said this was another revolutionary initiative of the Jagan Mohan Reddy government in the field of higher education, enabling even poor and middle-class students to access the courses offered by international universities for free.

They explained that edX and the state higher education department have jointly developed new technologies and teaching methods for the teaching and learning experience.

Education minister Botsa Satyanarayana said edX will collaborate with the state government in providing training and learning skills required for employment and livelihood opportunities for students.

Explaining the key points of the "edX agreement", he said that more than 12 lakh students of AP would be able to pursue 2,000+ edX online courses offered by world-class universities and other educational institutions for free along with their regular courses and get certificates.

“The best teachers from the world's top universities and institutions will be teaching our students. Students from AP will be awarded certificates and credits from prestigious universities such as Harvard, MIT, LSE and Columbia, opening the doors to lucrative national and global employment opportunities.”

Mentioning the advantages of the edX agreement, Satyanarayana said our students will get an opportunity to keep abreast of the changes in various subjects and learn them for free. By adding more verticals in the courses, the students will have the opportunity to study the verticals that they want.

The officials said many students who cannot afford to go abroad and study at top colleges will now have the opportunity to easily learn courses designed by world-renowned universities such as Harvard, MIT, Columbia, London School of Economics, New York Institute of Finance and Imperial College of London.

“These universities will conduct online exams for these subjects and issue certificates. These credits will become a part of our curriculum. As a result, our children will grow up as global students. By addressing the shortcomings in professional and traditional degree education and providing skill-oriented courses, we can develop a skilled human resource and called EdX agreement as a "game changer" in the higher education sector in AP.