Daily Times

KARACHI: The Higher Education Commission has apparently not made any effort to set up digital classrooms at universities to balance the concept of smart education and digital learning according to the modern era, Daily Times has learnt.

The concept of smart education is based on emerging and transformation methods by using information and the latest communication tool. This concept was also realized by Government of Pakistan and to implement it, Prime minister’s laptop scheme was introduced via HEC across the country’s varsities to award laptops amongst talented students. According to the available statistics released by HEC, more than half a million laptops have been distributed among the students which applied for prime minister’s laptop scheme till the mid of 2016. The scheme aimed to keep the students in touch with learning and research activities within universities, outside the classrooms as well as to give them access to internet based learning at their door steps via modern learning tools and ICTs-information and communication tools.

However, HEC acknowledged the emergence of smart education and ever-present computing, also took an initiative to set up smart campuses in the varsities across the country under which blanket wireless fidelity-Wi-Fi and wireless local area network-WLAN coverage would to be provided to balance the scheme of laptop computers.

Subsequently, to put across that new approach of learning, it was likely to be prologue smart classrooms at universities and degree awarding institutes level as well- the smart classrooms would be outfitted with internet, video audio linking tools and other helpful technologies. The move toward smart classrooms was not only a supportive activity for educators to integrate distance education within classrooms in real time uninterruptedly but it was also regarding the digital generation to be boosted opportunities for their individualized learning, to sparkle innovated education and to enhance teaching qualities of faculties by the use of ICTs.

Eventually, to introduce new methodologies HEC’s took initiatives aimed to lead the traditional education towards smart education across the country.

Published in Daily Times, July 20^th , 2017.