21st Century Skills in Government Schools of Jammu & Kashmir
One of the prominent reforms announced in the Indian National Education Policy 2020 is the initiation of classes on coding for students from class 6 onwards. Introducing coding and increasing exposure to technology at a young age will go a long way in helping the youth lead the way to a new world of innovation and creativity, thus, giving children the opportunity to set their own goals and reach new heights. This programme is one of the first of its kind, not just in Jammu & Kashmir, but perhaps around the country. Not only does this programme aim to teach coding to children, but it is also participatory in nature and encourages them to create their own programmes and present them in hackathons. It also has an innovative element of ‘coding without computers’ using a board game that helps children write code using blocks and convert them into simple programmes in ‘scratch’ language. This is very beneficial for children in lowtech or no-tech settings, enabling them to gain skills in problem solving and encourage creative thinking and expression through basics of coding.
