Vijayawada: The State government inked an agreement with edX for offering online learning programmes. The agreement with edX will be a game changer in the higher education sector as it will allow students to have access to the best courses certified by renowned universities.
The collaboration will allow college students from Andhra Pradesh to avail more than 1,000 courses from various fields, including computer science, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), arts, and commerce, free of charge. Upon successful completion, they will receive a certificate from the university or institution that provided the course.
Appreciating this initiative, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy Stated, ‘The MoU will help overcome the scarcity of expert faculty and lead to great changes in learning and teaching of higher education.’ The minister also pointed out that free courses will help poor students in availing quality learning and create employment opportunities for them.
He highlighted the importance of redesigning and restructuring syllabi in major courses such as engineering, medicine, and commerce. He reiterated the necessity of establishing a board to oversee the process of curriculum restructuring.
As per the MoU, edX will work with the Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) department and evolve a roadmap for amplifying existing university courses.
edX founder and CEO Anant Agarwal will also advise the officials on curriculum design, creation of new verticals, revamping of existing courses and innovation in education for re-skilling and upskilling students.
Principal Secretary (higher education) J Shyamala Rao and edX founder and CEO Anant Agarwal signed the MoU in the presence of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. Education Minister Botcha Satyanarayana, Higher Education Council Chairman Prof K Hemachandra Reddy, principal secretary (school education) Praveen Prakash and representatives of edX were present.
