Ashoka University To Host 2-Day National Conference On Future Of K-12 Education Amid Corona Crisis; Nandan Nilekani Among Keynote Speakers

Ashoka University is hosting a two-day virtual conference on Friday and Saturday, with educators, school owners, principals and global experts, in order to deliberate on the future of K-12 education amid the challenges posed by Coronavirus.

Infosys Chairman Nandan Nilekani (Photo by MANJUNATH KIRAN / AFP)

New Delhi: One of the sectors that has been greatly impacted due to the Coronavirus-led situation is the education sector. Since, the idea of the K-12 ( from kindergarten to 12th grade) education is largely dependent on classroom teaching, the new norms of social distancing and avoiding mass gathering, has posed new challenges for the resumption of the sector which is already brimming with students and putting up with space constraints. To discuss solution to issues created by the COVID-19 pandemic, Ashoka University is hosting a two-day virtual conference on Friday and Saturday, with educators, school owners, principals and global experts, and to deliberate on the future of K-12 education, with Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani as one among the chief speakers. Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani, CBSE Chairman Manoj Ahuja, Department of School Education and Literacy  secretary Anita Karwal, HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh; Salman Khan, Founder and CEO, Khan Academy; Bridget T Long, Dean, Harvard Graduate School of Education, will be among the keynite speakers for the event. The conference will take place over Zoom and host over 1300 schools, 1100 school leaders and over 10000 attendees across more than 100 cities. The conference will host a range of stakeholders from the field of education- School Leaders, global experts, EdTech organizations, Policy makers and Counsellors – to address two key issues: how to deploy technology effectively to respond to the crisis, and how school leaders need adaptive leadership in the face of the many challenges it poses. Also Check: Haryana To Resume Schools By July And Universities By August; Classes To Be Held In Shifts It will also reflect on how to bridge the digital divide, and how to handle the mental wellness of students in a difficult time. Malabika Sarkar, Vice-Chancellor, Ashoka University, said: “We believe that the current uncertainty represents an opportunity to explore future-proof solutions to the varying issues facing the different types of schools in the Indian school system. Through this conference, we aim to bring together global education experts with Indian education authorities, school principals, counsellors, teachers and other participants to work out solutions on how technology-based education can be made accessible to the larger geographic and economic sections of the society.” The conference will also explore modes of Adaptive Leadership and how to manage organizations in times of crisis, she added. It will start at 4pm and end at 7.15pm on June 5 and start at 9.30AM and end at 5.20pm on June 6. Speakers at the Conference will also include John Kim and Prithwiraj Choudhary from Harvard Business School. The sessions will delve into the best practices to engage students online, embracing technology effectively and how to upskill teachers to deliver enriching online experience. The conference is hosted in association with Harvard Business School, Khan Academy, IC3, TAISI, FICCI Arise, College Board and XSEED. Ashoka University is India’s leading Liberal Arts and Sciences University located in Sonepat, Haryana.