Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said Class 10 and Class 11 students being taught to use technology to solve day-to-day problems now is a “good thing” and added that it is something that did not happen earlier.
He was speaking after inaugurating the Delhi Robotics League and HE21 Exhibition at the Thyagaraj Stadium here.
“A high-end competition like this has not been held anywhere in India before. Today, there are government as well as private schools that are participating in this competition. But the maximum number of students participating in it are from the School of Specialised Excellence. We can say that the level of education in the government schools of Delhi is much above that in other states,” he said.
Praising the students for their innovations, he said they have tried to find solutions to real-world problems and called it the best aspect of such an initiative.
To drive home his point, Kejriwal recalled how he could not fix his grandfather’s ceiling fan despite studying at an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).
“I went to IIT-Kharagpur to study mechanical engineering. After my second year of college, I had my vacation and went to my village. One day, my grandfather called me and said his fan was not working and asked me to fix it.
“I told him I didn’t know how to fix the fan. He was surprised that I was a mechanical engineer in IIT-Kharagpur and could not even fix a fan. That is when I realised the disconnect between what we study in college and the real-world problems,” he said.
The chief minister also expressed his happiness that high school students are now researching and trying to find solutions to real-world problems.
“I believe that this DRL (Delhi Robotics League) is a great initiative and will go a long way in finding solutions to problems that our country faces. I want to congratulate the team that goes on to win it, and also the other teams that learn and showcase their work over here.
“Ultimately every product over here is a solution to some real-world problem and, therefore, I firmly believe that there are no losers in this tournament and everyone here is a winner,” he said.
Kejriwal also spoke about a product in the exhibition that can inform farmers how much water to put in their fields.
“Often, a farmer ends up putting too much water and sometimes it is the other way round. Either way, it is harmful for the crops. So, the students here have put sensors on the ground and through these they know how much water is adequate. This is an excellent idea and, if it is implemented throughout the nation, it can be a transformational move,” he noted.
According to a government statement, the Delhi Robotics League is India’s first statewide robotics competition, conceived to enhance skills and competence among school students.
The theme of the 2023 edition is “Robo Kancha”. “Kancha” is a traditional game, mostly played by children. The aim is to enable students to learn problem-solving by conceptualising game solutions, designing and building robots, testing, debugging and ultimately creating a winning strategy.
Education Minister Atishi said this is the first-of-its-kind competition being hosted by the Delhi government.
“Until eight to nine years ago, no one would have imagined a day when Delhi government school students would compete in a robotics competition. But today, we are hosting the final round of the Delhi Robotics League. DRL was started in December last year and students from various Delhi schools participated with their robots in this,” she added.
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