VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has stressed the need for teaching Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality in medical and science courses, enabling the state to catch up with the latest advancements in technology.
“Our youths must become creators of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies,” he said while holding a meeting with officials of the education department and the vice chancellors at the camp office on Thursday.
He said, “We are not helping students have practical knowledge. The design of teaching methods and question papers should be changed altogether, giving priority to applicability of theories. We shall constitute working groups with four or five universities, giving representation to engineering, medical and other faculties.”
The Chief Minister told vice chancellors to fill the gap between our goals and achievements in education in the backdrop of the changes happening around the world. “From steam engines to electricity to computers, we remained ‘followers’ without having a say in their creation,” he noted.
The world, the Chief Minister noted, is witnessing a fourth revolution in the form of AI.
The Chief Minister stated, “Like in Western countries, we should also concentrate on applicability and overhaul the teaching methods and examination systems by resorting to emerging technologies into our curriculum. To achieve this vision, we shall constitute a board with top experts to make suggestions.”
“Two separate boards would be constituted -- one for primary education and the other for higher education so that we can overhaul the entire system from basic education right up to higher education.”
Pointing out that vice chancellors played a key role in higher education, the chief minister said they should think of adopting a two-pronged strategy to move along with the emerging technologies. “While adopting AI into the education system for improving teaching methods and learning skills, students should also be imparted with the AI creating skills. It should become a part of the curriculum, he said.
Jagan Mohan Reddy said the German Consular General had called on him recently. “He said Germany is facing acute scarcity of skilled manpower. In fact, all western countries are facing a demographic imbalance. Here, 70 per cent of the people are capable of working. We must train them with proper knowledge and skills, enabling them to shine at the global level.”
The Chief Minister said there was a need to introduce several verticals in a single faculty, like asset management, financial market, risk management and security analysis in courses like B.Com, as in western countries, so that students will have several options to pursue.
He said teaching methods in medical education also should be changed with the introduction of AI and Robotics while changing the syllabus in tune with emerging technologies. Classes should be conducted in such a way that augmented reality and virtual reality should be integrated with the curriculum. Technology is playing a key role in agriculture too, he noted.
