DC Bandipora interacts with ITeS students of GHS Onagam

Students facilitated to witness firsthand functioning of NIC, BPO, Videoconferencing

BANDIPORA, OCTOBER 19: The Deputy Commissioner (DC) Bandipora, Dr Owais Ahmad on Thursday interacted with the IT/ITes Students of Government High School Onagam at Video Conferencing Room, Mini-Secretariat Bandipora.

The students were on an industrial tour to the Mini Secretariat Bandipora as part of their National Education Policy (NEP) curriculum wherein the students visited Rural Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and National Informatics Centre (NIC).

The DC interacted with the students and urged them to gain practical knowledge about the course they have taken up so that they are motivated to master their skill in the future.

After attending a video conference along with several officers of the valley, Dr Owais told students that earlier he had to personally travel to Srinagar or Jammu to attend the meetings that would consume a lot of time and effort and people would suffer owing to absence of officers from their offices.

He said the IT and ITeS services enabled him to attend the meeting while sitting in office which has saved time, and hence, can give time to the general public.

Dr. Owais said the aim of such industrial tours is to equip the students with practical skills and knowledge besides preparing students for a competitive job market by exposing them to real world experience and hands on learning opportunities as part of the National Curriculum Framework-2005 (NCF-2005) recommendations.

He told students that such visits bridge the gap between practical and theory knowledge as it helps students to apply the knowledge they receive in classes to the world outside the school. “It gets them ready to earn their bread and butter along with their studies,” he added.

During the visit, students witnessed the inner workings of NIC network infrastructure, Video conference room, and BPO center, gaining practical insights of the IT related activities.

Experts at NIC said that the National Informatics Center (NIC) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is the technology partner of the Government of India providing technology-driven solutions to Central and State Governments. They also informed students about the e-Governance and role of NIC in that.

Later, the students visited Rural BPO, wherein the students were given hands-on training about the working of the BPO. They were informed that the Rural BPO was the first of its kind in Kashmir and was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India.

The students interacted with the youth who are working in the rural BPO and got apprised about their working. Rural BPO has so far provided jobs to hundreds of youths of the district.

Experts told the students that the center is equipped with modern infrastructure and has been instrumental in the government’s Digital India campaign, which aims to provide digital infrastructure to every citizen of the country. They said the Bandipora BPO center has been a game-changer for the local youth, enabling them to work from their hometowns.