The Children Innovative Learning and Design (ChILD) Programme aiming to introduce Coding and Robotics for students of Grades 4, 5 and 6, was officially launched today by the Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Mrs. Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, and the Minister of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation, Mr Darsanand Balgobin, at the Rajcoomar Gujadhur Government School in Central Flacq.
The Minister of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping, Mr Sudheer Maudhoo, and the Chairman of the National Computer Board (NCB), Mr Dhurma Ashdeo Soburrun, were also present.
In her address, the Vice-Prime Minister lauded this initiative of inculcating the notion of robotics and programming to students at an early age adding that its impact is far reaching. The programme, she stated, will further boost the interests of young learners and encourage them towards STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects, she added. It will also enable students to develop soft skills and become technology creators in future, she added.
Robotic programming, she indicated, is an excellent tool for consolidating ICT-related knowledge and helping the holistic development of young learners who according to the Vice-Prime Minister, are known to be digital natives. Innovation and creativity, she underlined, are key to success in a constantly evolving world adding that children should acquire skills that will enable them to become lifelong learners.
Minister Balgobin stated that it is essential to adapt and acquire new skills and abilities with the development of digital technologies. Robotics, he pointed out, is key to industrial and cultural revolution and will have an ever growing important economic value in the near future.
“It is imperative for youngsters to develop digital skills to be able to navigate to a meaningful and interesting future”, he said adding that the programme will allow children to design and build their own robots using the Do It Yourself concept.
Furthermore, the Minister indicated that some 24 educators from different schools benefitted from a training prior to implementing the ChILD programme. The aim, he stated, is to be able to train some 5 000 students by 2023 in line with Government’s vision to creating a Smart Mauritius.
Mr Soburrun, for his part, stated that the training programme encourages young students to embrace technology and discover novel technologies from an early age. The NCB, he said, will continue to conceptualise such new projects to pave the way forward for ICT to become a key pillar of the country.
Children Innovative Learning and Design Programme
The ChILD programme is a new educational initiative in ICT which is being implemented in primary schools in collaboration with the Ministry of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation, the Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, and the NCB.
It aims at introducing Robotics Kits (LEGO Education WeDo 2.0) to upper primary students while equipping them with the required coding capabilities. The objective is to foster a predilection for science and engineering. The programme is of 15-hour duration and consists of the following modules: Scratch 3.0, LEGO WeDo 2.0 Core Set and BBC Micro:Bits.
