Guwahati, Assam: The Assam government has taken a significant step towards making school education more technology-driven by signing Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with six leading organisations to promote the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), digital technology and innovation across the state’s education system.
Assam Education Minister Ranoj Pegu attended the MoU signing ceremony between Samagra Shiksha Assam and the six organisations. The collaborations are aimed at strengthening teaching and learning, improving foundational education, expanding digital skills and creating greater learning opportunities for students across the state.
According to Ranoj Pegu, each organisation will contribute to a specific area of school education. Google AI will work on empowering teachers through AI-powered educational tools, digital skills and professional development, with the objective of helping educators make effective use of emerging technologies in teaching and learning.
A separate partnership with IIT Madras – Bodhan AI will focus on building AI proficiency among teachers. Under the proposed initiative, around one lakh teachers teaching Grades 6 to 12 are expected to be trained by May 2027, creating a large-scale effort to improve AI awareness and capabilities among educators in Assam.
The collaboration with LEHS – Wadhwani AI will focus on strengthening foundational literacy through AI-enabled assessment of students’ reading fluency. The technology-based approach is expected to help assess students’ reading abilities and support efforts to improve foundational learning outcomes.
Meanwhile, Educate Girls will work towards identifying, enrolling and retaining out-of-school adolescents, with particular attention to girls. The partnership is intended to help bring more young people into the formal education system and support their continued participation in schooling.
The state has also partnered with EkStep – AXL to promote personalised and AI-assisted learning in foundational literacy and numeracy. Such technology-enabled approaches are aimed at supporting learning based on the individual needs and abilities of students.
Another collaboration with Canva Education will focus on digital literacy, creativity, design thinking and innovation among teachers and students. The initiative is expected to provide opportunities for learners and educators to develop digital and creative skills relevant to the changing demands of education and the wider economy.
The six collaborations collectively cover teacher capacity building, artificial intelligence, foundational literacy, student assessment, school enrolment, personalised learning, digital literacy and creativity. The initiatives are intended to contribute to the development of a more inclusive, technology-enabled and learner-centric education ecosystem in Assam.
Ranoj Pegu described the collaborations as an important step towards future-ready education in the state. The initiatives also underline the Assam government’s efforts to integrate emerging technologies into school education while strengthening the role of teachers and expanding learning opportunities for children.
The proposed teacher-training programme involving around one lakh educators by May 2027 is expected to be one of the largest components of the initiative. If implemented as planned, it could significantly expand the exposure of Assam’s school teachers to Artificial Intelligence and its potential applications in education.
