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CSSEIP organises a lecture by Dr. Makhan Saikia

CSSEIP organises a lecture by Dr. Makhan Saikia

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Event End Date
Event Title
CSSEIP organises a lecture by Dr. Makhan Saikia
Event Details
Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy
School of Social Sciences
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi
 
Invites you to a Lecture
 
On
Online Mode of Education: Challenges And Opportunities For Remote Areas And Marginalised Communities
 
by
Dr. Makhan Saikia
Former Senior Editor (Edit &Op-ed), The Pioneer
 
26th May 2022 at 10:30am
in virtual mode through google meet
To join the meeting on Google Meet, click this link: https://meet.google.com/spp-botg-ooy
Or open Meet and enter this code: spp-botg-ooy
 
Globalization and post-globalization have brought all of us to what Thomas Friedman rightly called a ‘’Flat World’’. Succinctly, this unique interconnectedness has also moved humanity to a new age of education, culture, business, politics and science. Precisely, the master key behind the fastest expansion of all these sectors is nothing but an advanced stage of information and communication technology (ICTs). And, frankly, education has been propelled completely to a new height wherein the ‘digital education or online education’ has come to the centre stage despite humanity having been entrenched into an established system of off-line or physical mode of education for ages. The challenges and opportunities of this online education have surfaced very prominently when all of a sudden, the ghost of Covid-19 stuck all of us. Online education is a boon for many, especially those who are able to access the latest mode of ICTs. And for a large section of people, digital education has become a hindrance to their learning process. This specifically applies to the marginalised including the Dalits, tribals, the minorities and all other socially and economically backward classes of people all across India. Further, we can certainly say that beyond the marginalised sections, people residing in the remotest corners of North-Eastern India have also largely experienced the inaccessibility to ICT for availing the benefits of digital education. India has the second largest schooling system in the world only after China. Closing down schools and other educational institutions during the Covid-19 pandemic was urgently needed to maintain social distancing so as to avoid community transmission of the disease. However, this prolonged closure of educational institutions has a strong negative impact on already disadvantaged and neglected sections of our society. The e-learning format is purely new for them. And most of them are not accessible to digital technology. Despite education being a Fundamental Right and Fundamental Duty enshrined in our Constitution, it was a herculean task for the Government to offer digital education to millions of children from the remote areas and underprivileged sections of our society. We also need to understand that no country was ever prepared for monstrous pandemic like this. Hence, the impact on education and learners from these vulnerable sections have become unimaginable.

All are cordially invited
 

A warm welcome to the modified and updated website of the Centre for East Asian Studies. The East Asian region has been at the forefront of several path-breaking changes since 1970s beginning with the redefining the development architecture with its State-led development model besides emerging as a major region in the global politics and a key hub of the sophisticated technologies. The Centre is one of the thirteen Centres of the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi that provides a holistic understanding of the region.

Initially, established as a Centre for Chinese and Japanese Studies, it subsequently grew to include Korean Studies as well. At present there are eight faculty members in the Centre. Several distinguished faculty who have now retired include the late Prof. Gargi Dutt, Prof. P.A.N. Murthy, Prof. G.P. Deshpande, Dr. Nranarayan Das, Prof. R.R. Krishnan and Prof. K.V. Kesavan. Besides, Dr. Madhu Bhalla served at the Centre in Chinese Studies Programme during 1994-2006. In addition, Ms. Kamlesh Jain and Dr. M. M. Kunju served the Centre as the Documentation Officers in Chinese and Japanese Studies respectively.

The academic curriculum covers both modern and contemporary facets of East Asia as each scholar specializes in an area of his/her interest in the region. The integrated course involves two semesters of classes at the M. Phil programme and a dissertation for the M. Phil and a thesis for Ph. D programme respectively. The central objective is to impart an interdisciplinary knowledge and understanding of history, foreign policy, government and politics, society and culture and political economy of the respective areas. Students can explore new and emerging themes such as East Asian regionalism, the evolving East Asian Community, the rise of China, resurgence of Japan and the prospects for reunification of the Korean peninsula. Additionally, the Centre lays great emphasis on the building of language skills. The background of scholars includes mostly from the social science disciplines; History, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, International Relations and language.

Several students of the centre have been recipients of prestigious research fellowships awarded by Japan Foundation, Mombusho (Ministry of Education, Government of Japan), Saburo Okita Memorial Fellowship, Nippon Foundation, Korea Foundation, Nehru Memorial Fellowship, and Fellowship from the Chinese and Taiwanese Governments. Besides, students from Japan receive fellowship from the Indian Council of Cultural Relations.