By Shankar Kumar Turha
Celebrated to drive digital literacy, specifically among students, women and children, computer literacy aims to spread awareness about the inculcation of computer knowledge and technological skills to all sections of society. Observed on December 2, World Computer Literacy Day is dedicated to appreciating technological advancements achieved with the advent of computers and software programmes – how it has transformed education to help the development of people and society.
Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Cultural Centre (VCC) in Shillong, which completed two decades of service in 2021, serves as the epitome of excellence for imparting computer knowledge and skills to the youths of Meghalaya. The institute has not just been instrumental in offering the most affordable computer courses but also pioneered many things despite stiff competition.
The modern building of VCC at Quinton Road, a wing of Ramakrishna Mission, stands at the same spot where Swami Vivekananda delivered his last public lecture in April 1901. It came into existence in 1993 and its services were expanded in 2002.
Out of the many services offered from the location, computer training is extremely popular. It has trained more than 55,000 youths on computer software/hardware courses since its inception, and continues to do so with a renewed vision and mission.
A faculty at the institute, Ananya Roy, spoke exclusively about how their computer literacy course helps youths in both rural and urban areas to learn computers, involving the best pedagogy methods for a great learning experience. Over the last 20 years the institute has pioneered several initiatives that have greatly helped students in becoming employable across different sectors.
“There were many institutes running computer courses like Don Bosco, BDPS, and others, but there were a few things that RKM pioneered. For instance, new software. We were the first ones to teach Windows XP back in 2002, and the first to pick up courses such as Photoshop, and others,” Roy said.
For Roy, short term courses being offered at the centre have played a pivotal role in bridging the computer literacy gap as it has helped students pursue computer learning along with their academic studies at school or college level.
The team at VCC also stresses upon a call-to-action for governments and organisations to reach out to those without computer access while highlighting the importance of global computer literacy, including comprehending how computers work, how to program and use them.
Roy pointed out that one of the important aspects of computer literacy is the invention of smartphones, and the evolution of online learning platforms. These have greatly helped students gain essential knowledge on computers from the comfort of their homes and opened up avenues never imagined before.
Following the same suit, RKM went a step ahead to start an online learning portal much before other schools in Shillong did. She said that it not only helped students learn things distantly, but became a core focus area for student-centric online learning offering the best courses and lectures with incorporation of the latest tools.
Taking into account the pedagogy as an important aspect of teaching, Roy compared the institute’s standing amongst the large number of online learning platforms that have come up and why students must still choose RKM rather than these avenues of learning.
“Our concerns were, with so many online learning platforms around, why should we start another one? The answer to this was that these platforms do not cater to the specific needs of local students of the region. If you are speaking about the teaching-learning process, it is always about understanding the needs of the individual students which may apply to larger cities, but not be the same for certain sections of students living in remote areas. The level of understanding, the way a student perceives things is not the same. Hence, our idea is to cater to the regional aspirations, taking into account the viability, the affordability, the ease of taking up courses,” she said.
“RKM online has videos, PDF notes, assignments and real time classes wherein teacher-student interaction offers a complete learning experience. All these things combined makes us stand apart in Shillong,” Roy asserted further, while adding that there is nothing like offline learning/classes.
One important thing that Roy highlighted during the course of the discussion was the idea of making students employable by giving them the best training. “We believe that learning and skills have to be absorbed, and if we are not able to absorb them into the system, then teaching is futile. We don’t just teach, we also give them employment by not just taking them as faculty, but also sending them for placement drives,” said Roy.
Stating that the institute has been dynamic and resilient, Roy maintained that the institute strives to bring in new courses every year, placing it amongst the first to offer Python programming, Android training, and other advanced courses.
“As such, the institute over the last two decades evolved from offering basic courses to all kinds of new courses coming up in the market. Earlier, we only gave certificates from our side, but now our courses are certified by and have the tag of National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC),” Roy revealed.
Deliberating on lack of job opportunities in Shillong, Chetan Maharaj, Deputy In-charge of RKMVCC, said that the youths harbour a fear of taking up challenges or coming out of their comfort zones; hence, the high number of people without jobs.
“We have organised various placement drives that require candidates to move out. However, they are reluctant to see beyond the realm of comfort,” said Maharaj, adding that the mentality has to change.
He said that the current digital world is all about cloud computing, big data, data mining, data analytics and other advanced courses, but there are very few takers for such advanced level courses in Shillong.
“We are trying to impart industry-oriented courses here. So, it is my appeal to the government to help the institute as without any funding, it is practically impossible to take up tasks in a much bigger way,” he stated.
He added that post elections, the institute will likely take up the matter with the government for future expansion, to hire talents and train the youths of Meghalaya in computers and take the institute ahead.
People that lack digital literacy are unable to reap the benefits of what technology has to offer, creating a large digital divide across the state. Institutions like the Vivekananda Cultural Centre are attempting to close that gap by educating people on how ubiquitous technology has become and how to better interact with them.