Diksha- A step in the right direction towards building a Digital India

Going through reports in the media, I was often left wondering why large chunks of population are left without any job. Has it anything to do with government policy or are there gaps that fail to meet the eye. Once you lay bare facts in front of yourself, it becomes easier to analyse what is happening on the field. 

A Little more than 70% of our population is agriculture dependent. It is a hard hitting truth, but also a lot of other realities that hit the surface. It has become very apparent that urban centres have much better facilities in terms of education and infrastructure, than rural areas. Lets take the example of Education. Its the rural areas that require most of the attention. The challenge in front of us is that there is a wide gap in terms of quality of education between the cities and the smaller towns and villages. How do we ensure that teachers all across the nation upskill themselves? How do we move as a nation from Bharat to India? This is the question that needs to be answered. I am of the firm belief that once the issue of quality of education being provided is addressed there are a lot of other things that will fall in place. The need is for a platform that enable the Teachers to train themselves, to upgrade themselves before the student is taken care of. We must bear in mind that the student is at the centre of it all. He/She is the key. Once all the stakeholders involved in managing the student is taken care of, the rest would fall in the place. When the mind meandered around these thoughts I decided to do some research on the kind of initiatives that the government might have in place. 

Thanks to a very close friend I came across a GOI initiative that addresses the above to a T. Its called Diksha. I once again wondered why the name Diksha. I went back to my head researcher Google who in a jiffy presented me with a solution by referring me to Wikipedia. As per Wiki and I quote "preparation or consecration for a religious ceremony", is giving of a mantra or an initiation by the guru (in Guru–shishya tradition) of  Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Diksa is given in a one-to-one ceremony, and typically includes the taking on of a serious spiritual discipline.The word is derived from the Sanskrit root dā ("to give") plus kṣi ("to destroy") or alternately from the verb root dīkṣ ("to consecrate"). When the mind of the guru and the disciple become one, then we say that the disciple has been initiated by the guru." Initiation by the Guru is the first step where he trains himself before he trains the student. Spiritual Discipline is the keenness and the effort taken by the teacher takes in learning and unlearning. At the end of it through the knowledge imparted the mind of the Guru and the Sishya becomes one via skills upmanship at both ends. Thus the word Diksha caught my fancy and gave me the confidence that we are headed in the right direction. 

About Diksha

In India, teachers are increasingly creating and using technology-based innovative solutions in their classrooms to help students learn better. Some state governments have also initiated programs to support their teachers digitally.

DIKSHA is MHRD’s national digital platform for teachers which offers resources for teaching, learning, and professional development. DIKSHA provides open, modular and scalable technology that state governments and other organizations can seamlessly integrate with their respective teacher-centric initiatives. 

In other words a teacher can now become attuned to the rest of the word digitally, train herself for a fast developing world, know better about teaching methodologies being followed in urban centres, upload lesson plans, thereby bridging the gap between Bharat and India.

Wow, Wow, Wow. Great Initiative and Kudos to The Government of India for coming up with such a gesture. Noble indeed. 10 million teachers coming together on one single common platform in order to groom 250 million children. Truly Unity in Diversity. So far So Good. What lies ahead?

Way Forward For Diksha

All the good work that is being done has to spread and spread very fast. No better way of doing it than the presence of Diksha on social media. I did not notice its presence but since the entire program is still in development stage, I am sure I will see Diksha making much wanted progress in this direction. There is nothing more sweeter than success, and I see a lot of success stories being captured through means of video testimonials, blogs, Facebook Posts, Tweets and the like. Seeing that the current government is proactive on social media, I see no reason for a huge following for such a noble mission in a few months time. I for one would definitely want to be a part of this wonderful initiative, given my own humble experience with social media. There is so much that can be done on the social media front. For example: Interview with a teacher who has undergone the entire program and how she has benefitted from it. This is just one example and I am sure much more can be done once like minded social media enthusiasts come together

In conclusion the Jigsaw puzzle is beginning to fall in place in my mind. Unemployment=>Diksha=>Training of Teachers=>Better Quality of Education=>Better Content and Lesson Plans=>Top Notch Students=>Digital India=>Jobs. The seed has just been sown. for it to grow the program needs to be nurtured with proper support systems in place. More corporates will definitely want to support the program once the news spreads. For more information about the program log on to https://diksha.gov.in/