Andhra Pradesh School Education Commissioner S. Suresh Kumar was the key speaker at the Global Social and Financial Skills Conference-2023 that began at Utrecht in Netherlands on November 1 (Wednesday).
He deliberated upon the success of the Entrepreneurial Mindset Development Programme (EMDP), which is being implemented in the schools in the State.
Mr. Suresh Kumar was the only official from India to make a presentation at the conference in which the officials from four other countries would also join him.
Mr. Suresh Kumar also highlighted various pioneering initiatives undertaken by the School Education Department in the government schools in Andhra Pradesh to transform the children into global students.
The conference will conclude on November 3.
The EMDP for ninth-class students, aimed at building entrepreneurial mindset and 21st-century skills and introducing them to basic financial literacy skills and concepts, has proven to be a successful initiative. The initiative, which started with about 1,000 students in 30 government schools in 2021, has covered 3,50,000 students of 5,420 schools this academic year.
“The EMDP is in line with the vision of imparting high-standard education and making the children global students. Making our students competitive in all spheres of education and skilling is our overall endeavour,” said Mr. Suresh Kumar said.
In all, about 6 lakh students of government schools have been trained under the EMDP in the last four years. About 40 % of the students have shown improvement in critical thinking skills. The Impact Evaluation Study of the EMDP was carried out by the World Bank, in association with six international universities.
“Developing critical thinking and problem-solving abilities are the two key stress areas in the EMDP. The curriculum is designed with a strong connection to regular subjects and emphasis on project work so that what is learnt is put into practice,” said Mr. Suresh Kumar.
For effective implementation of the EMDP, about 10,000 government teachers have been imparted training in a cascade model. “We will expand the EMDP to the students of other classes to ensure the continuity. Connecting students with subject experts and providing internship opportunities for hands-on practice are among the other key initiatives planned for making the EMDP more effective,” Mr. Suresh Kumar added.
The Global Social and Financial Skills Conference will be the third event where the success of the EMDP is being showcased, after the Asia Regional Conference in Indonesia and the Transforming Education Summit at the United Nations General Assembly, New York.
