Prof. Dr. Chattar Singh, Vice Chancellor, Rai Technology University, Bengaluru, shares his views on Bridging the Digital Divide

“To bridge the digital divide, we need collaboration among academia, industry, businesses, government, social organizations, and NGOs,” says Prof. Dr. Chattar Singh, Vice Chancellor, Rai Technology University, Bengaluru, in an Interview with Pratik Ghosh, Content Writer, ArdorComm Media Group at the ‘New Normal – Education Leadership Summit & Awards 2023’ #ELSANewDelhi #ELSAGurugram

How are you feeling to witness the New Normal Education Leadership Summit and Awards in Delhi?

I’m coming here for the second time, first time it was held here itself and that was new normal because we’re coming out of covid at that time and this was the first summit where more than 50 Vice chancellors and head of the institutions participated in deliberations so it has been a big leap from that period to this period and more people are coming and joining in these summits and I must congratulate Chandan Anand and his team for this and this is time to celebrate because this has been a very successful conference today.

The theme of this event is ‘India Vision 2030’. What do you think should be the vision for the education sector in India?

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 was envisaged to not only create a knowledge bank in India but also generate job opportunities for youth by developing new skills and fostering entrepreneurship. The policy aimed at various initiatives like Skill India to achieve self-reliance. While NEP 2020 outlines these goals, the implementation needs to be done in phases, focusing on education, research, innovation, entrepreneurship, jobs, and finance. We need to discuss and analyze these aspects to meet the goal of making India a “Vishwaguru” by 2030.

With the rise of technology, there’s also a concern about the digital divide. How can we bridge this gap?

To bridge the digital divide, we need collaboration among academia, industry, businesses, government, social organizations, and NGOs. It’s not just about urban and rural areas but also about affordability and access to advanced electronic devices. We need to innovate and research devices that are accessible to everyone, including students and those seeking knowledge and employment. The digital divide can hinder the goals of NEP 2020, so it’s crucial to ensure equal access.

Any message for ArdorComm Media Group on its 2^nd anniversary?

ArdorComm Media has been doing a wonderful job from taking all the messages from government to people and from people to government. So, it is helping a lot in a positive manner not only to achieve the targets of NEP 2020 but also to aware the people particularly the youth, the teachers and the institutions about what is going on in the environment, in the society, in the country, in the government and vice versa. So, I congratulate ArdorComm Media for doing this job selflessly for promotion of education, research and workforce in India by its own means.