Punjab establishes AI-laboratories within schools

In a significant move towards equal career planning of students, the Punjab government launched a unique initiative involving artificial intelligence-based career guidance services within its government-school framework. The initiative was launched over the weekend.

During the pilot stage, 25 AI-enabled guidance labs opened inside government and affiliated Punjab School Education Board schools, according to Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains.

The minister has stated that this new innovation will assist the students in taking educated decisions regarding their future.

The initiative was launched by Bains as he opened laboratory classes in Government Senior Secondary School, Nangal, and Government Senior Secondary School for Girls, Sri Anandpur Sahib.

The programme has been made available completely free of cost to the student community in collaboration with ed-tech partner Beyond Mentor, according to a press release.

“This project has to do with giving the youth in our state the right tools at the right time, which is something that we're looking at in terms of this pilot of 25 schools to see how it actually works,” said Bains.

When implemented successfully, it is anticipated that it would give way to an expansion in the province of Punjab, and it would possibly be one among the first provinces to incorporate it in India.

The move is an committed effort on the part of the Punjab government, headed by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, in preparation for the requirement needed for the 21st-century economy, according to Bains.

“Career counseling is going to cease being an indulgence. With the implementation of systematic and AI-driven counseling in our government schools, we are ensuring that every child, from every background, has the opportunity to take an educated decision about what they want to do,” the education minister further added.

While giving an overview of what the AI labs would entail, Bains said that the students would undergo an aptitude and interest analysis using AI on the online platform.

Based on this, the system will provide an individual career report with possible academic and career paths, followed by career sessions with the students carried out by the professional counselors, involving the parents, in order to discuss the report and devise an action plan.

The aim is to move beyond generic recommendations to providing data-driven insights, right from class 6, said the minister, adding it could even happen from class 6 itself.

PSEB Chairman Dr. Amarpal Singh further discussed the requirement for making a transition from examination-based learning to overall development. “Actually, education should unlock one’s potential. These labs will also allow the students to understand their natural strengths, which they can then convert into concrete objectives of their future profession, as opposed to merely going after grades,” Singh explained. As per the official statement, Saurav Kumar, CEO of Beyond Mentor, stated, “Our platform combines technology and human empathy. Where our scalable assessment component happens to be AI, human counseling becomes the really important part of it, which makes every child feel heard and advised.”