India’s top technical education body has launched a new portal to offer 26 courses during Coronavirus lockdown

• To ensure learning continuity, the All India Council for Technical Education(AICTE) has rolled out a free e-learning initiative — Enhancement in Learning with Improvement in Skills (ELIS) portal.
  
• The initiative is aimed at overcoming setbacks to academic activity.
  
• The portal will offer 26 courses from 18 edtech platforms. These include emerging technologies like machine learning, data analytics, Big Data, python.
  
• The apex body for technical education has asked the institutions to facilitate internships from home.
  

Education has taken a massive toll as schools and universities remain closed due to the Coronavirus pandemic. This has led to postponement of board exams and university entrances like JEE Mains.

Given that, to ensure learning continuity, the All India Council for Technical Education(AICTE) has rolled out a free e-learning initiative — Enhancement in Learning with Improvement in Skills (ELIS) portal — to improve skills and overcome setbacks to academic activity.

“In order to foster digital learning and support the students community across the country, ELIS portal has been designed by AICTE. It will provide contents that will not only enhance learning for regular subjects but also aims to build a skill set for actual work,” the official announcement said.

According to AICTE, the portal will offer 26 courses from 18 edtech platforms. These include emerging technologies like machine learning, data analytics, Big Data, python.

The students can enroll for courses by May 15. “Under normal circumstances, these are selectively available at prices ranging from ₹5,000 to ₹20,000. However, the participating companies have offered to enrol students in the present lockdown without any cost till May 15,” the notice said.

Meanwhile, the apex body for technical education is also working to ensure that the students do not miss internship opportunities during the lockdown period. It has asked the technical education institutions to facilitate internships from home.

“Students who bagged internships with organisations that are allowing work from home should continue working there,” AICTE told ThePrint.

However, given the contracting demand in the travel and tourism sector due to closed borders, it recommends internships outside these domains. “Institutes should instruct their students, not to take up any internships outside the organisations which involve travel, contact with outsiders, etc. However, ongoing internships, where companies are allowing students to work from home, shall continue,” the circular said.

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