Cisco experiments cloud-based remote class near Bangalore

Cisco is experimenting its remote education system in government schools using the Cisco Education Enabled Development (CEED) platform under its Inclusive Growth initiative. The pilot will deploy specialized remote supplementary teaching for five government schools in Hoskote Taluk, Bangalore Rural District in the state of Karnataka. AN MoU has been signed with the government of Karnataka.

“Using the CEED platform, it is possible to impart training to school teachers as well. We envision our solutions will exponentially enhance the quality of education imparted in government schools. It gives me great satisfaction to embark upon this new project as we surge ahead with our goal towards using technology as the enabler in ensuring inclusive growth,” said Aravind Sitaraman, president, Inclusive Growth, Cisco.

B.N. Bache Gowda, state labour minister has inaugurated the remote education project at Bendiganahalli Government Higher Primary School in Hoskote. The project will be on a public-private partnership model where Cisco will deploy its solution and maintain it as a service that includes remote access and support. The schools that are part of the pilot are Kumbalahalli GHPS, Sulibele GMPS, Bendiganahalli GHPS, Muthasandra GHPS and Devangundi GHPS. The government of Karnataka will provide the basic school infrastructure.

Using the CEED platform, more than 750 students from classes five to eight in these five schools will receive supplementary teaching in English, mathematics, science and social sciences. Children’s Lovecastles Trust will deliver high-quality supplementary courses remotely through the CEED platform to students of class five to eight in these schools.

More than a thousand students in Raichur and Shimoga have already received the remote education enabled by the CEED platform, said a company statement. The CEED platform facilitates a virtual classroom scenario where teachers impart interactive learning to students located several kilometers away. This is part of the Cisco Inclusive Growth program, which provides technology in an affordable and consumable form. The solutions use network collaboration tools delivered over video out of a secure cloud.

“Cisco’s innovative technology will help the government of Karnataka to achieve its goal of making education accessible to everyone, and fulfill the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan’s vision of education for all. Quality education will not only help our students learn better but also empower them to build a better future for themselves and the nation. Districts like Hoskote are challenged by the lack of teachers, and technology is helping us address this. I am confident that our collaborative efforts today will bear the desired results of bringing prosperity and bridging the gap between urban and rural areas,” said B.N. Bache Gowda, karnataka Labour minister.

The paucity of trained, qualified teachers is one of the major challenges being faced by rural India today and Cisco hopes to bridge the gap.