With the aim of bringing the latest technology and transparency into the education sector, India has adopted blockchain technology that will change the way pupils acquire knowledge.
Recently, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi conferred degrees in digital form to graduates of prestigious technology institutions.
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Understanding the importance of blockchain technology, the government’s new National Education Policy 2020 (NEP-2020) has set an ambitious plan to achieve a 100% Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in school education by 2030 and double it in higher education, to reach 50 % by 2035.
As the world faces lockdown from the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic, and students virtually attend schools and colleges, the adoption of blockchain technology is extremely timely.
By the adoption of new technologies, educational institutes can track students’ academic activities as well as provide the required information to all stakeholders.
Blockchain technology can add several features in making a robust Digital Education Ecosystem (DEE) that includes content development, teaching, evaluations, grading, attendance recording, achievements, certificates, degrees, and diplomas.
Students will get the certificate in digital form and this certificate can be verified in any part of the world, there will be no need to get the hard copy of the certificate anymore.
The advent of blockchain technology allows for various applications in various sectors such as logistics, agriculture, travel, data storage, privacy, etc. Blockchain technology is already being used by many institutes for granting certificates and degrees.
The government is using this technology for the first time, recognizing the benefits and changes it can bring to the vast education system.
As blockchain technology works on a decentralized framework system, information stored therein is fraud-proof, transparent, and credible.
Blockchain technology could provide a secure and excellent framework to manage the day-to-day activities of students. They can record information such as assignments, attendance, and extracurricular activities, to information about degrees and colleges they have attended. It would be a secure system that ensures educational records remain immutable.
Other than students, even information of the teachers can be stored safely and that would help institutions to monitor faculty performance at regular intervals. The students’ information can also be shared with recruiters, who would like to employ the student after they complete their education, giving them easy access to information, without revealing many details.
With NEP-20 calling for introducing multidisciplinary education where students would be able to choose their own combination of major and minor subjects along with flexibility in course duration, blockchain technology can help implement such a multiple-entry-and-exit structure.
An education system based on a blockchain-based platform can also be used to incentivize students to maintain consistency and achieve academic excellence.
The government and educational experts are of the understanding that the adoption of blockchain in education could help improve the efficiency of the education ecosystem and optimize the use of human and physical resources.
By using the latest technology that is transforming various sectors, there are some concerns of cost, scalability, and integration with already established systems that need to be addressed.
However, blockchain technology can definitely bring in new systems that handle higher enrollment while being secure, transparent, collaborative, creative, and future-ready.
Jagdish Kumar
Klever Writer
Follow me on twitter.com/TokenBharat
