Bhubaneswar, April 5 (Representative) The advent of smart technology has been revolutionizing life on planet Earth, but its long-term impact on the essential elements of being human has to be assessed, University Grants Commission (UGC) Vice-Chairman, Prof. Deepak Kumar Srivastava said. “Use of technology is enhancing the productivity of the human brain but the ability to think, act and analyze is being challenged by excessive use of technology,” Srivastava said while delivering the Silver Jubilee Lecture at the Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA) Deemed to be University here on Wednesday.
He said “We need to set our technology in the background, learn how to detach from it and connect to it when necessary,” Referring to the latest innovations like Chat GPT, an Artificial Intelligence Chatbot, Prof. Srivastava said while such technology was useful it needed to be controlled with focus on human conscientiousness. Prof. Srivastava said the policymakers and certain governments have been very serious about providing technology access to people of different age groups. Several governments including the United Kingdom, Scotland and Singapore had banned the use of calculators in schools to encourage cognitive thinking and help in the development of the brain as also basic numeracy skills in children. Chat GPT, the recent technology product, has been banned in public schools in New York to safeguard the critical thinking and problem-solving skills in children, he said. In India, Prof. Srivastava said, the government has been proactive in using technology in the education system and it had been kept at a minimal level for the early education of children as the major responsibility rested with the Anganwadi Workers and others.
The National Education Policy (NEP) focused on children’s physical, motor, cognitive, socio-emotional, cultural, artistic, communication, literacy and numeracy development skills, he said. At the same time, Srivastava said, one of the central principles steering the education system would be the ‘extensive use of technology in teaching and learning, removing language barriers, increasing access as well as education planning and management in desirable areas like smart classes, smart curriculum and classroom outcomes. The NEP, he said, envisions an education system rooted in Indian ethos which contributes directly to transforming India into an equitable and vibrant knowledge society and a global knowledge superpower. Stating that India was on its way to become ‘Vikshit Bharat’ by 2047, Prof. Srivastava said the role of the university was to instil among the students a deep-rooted pride in being Indian not only in thought but also in spirit, intellect and deeds.