Rajasthan is progressively moving towards the efficient education system. In these 3 years , raje government has put the important efforts on education system of the state. Resultantly, four schools of the state may be equipped with Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs). Launched by Niti Aayog, ATL are a section of AIM (Atal Innovation Mission). As per the Niti Aayog system, ATLs will be installed in some chosen schools of the country, which will help in making an innovation ecosystem in the country. The labs intends to boost curiosity, imagination and creativity in young people’s minds. It also aims to inculcate the skills like computational skills, adaptive learning and design mind set.
Dr. Shailendra Somani (Director of MDS Sr. Secondary School) said, “As many as 13,005 schools across India, out of which 977 were from Rajasthan had applied for ATL. But only 237 passed the eligibility criteria”. MDS Sr. Secondary is one of those 4 schools which will get ATLs (Atal Tinkering Labs). Three other names include Birla Shishu Vihar (Pilani), Mohanlal Dayal Vinay Mandir School (Alwar) and Ryan International school. These selected schools will be having Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Niti Aayog to expedite the procedure to install the labs.
AIM is dedicated to establish ATLs in schools of India with a motive and goal to ”Cultivate one million children in India as neoteric innovators’. ATL gives complete leeway to the children to develop their practical mindset. The hands-on do-it yourself mode is capable enough to give intellectual freedom to the ideas of students. To understand the deep concepts of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths), children will get the chance to get practically involved with tools and equipments. ATL comprises of educational and learning ‘do it yourself’ kits and equipments on – robotics, science, electronics and open source microcontroller boards, 3D printers, sensors and computers.
There are also lucrative facilities involved like video conferencing, meeting rooms etc. Also, there will be conduct of competitions on national and regional levels, to boost the creative mindset. Other similar activities include, workshops, exhibitions, designing and fabrication of products. A one time grant-in aid will also be introduced with an introduction cost of Rs. 10 lakh by AIM. This will also include operational expenses of Rs. 10 lakh for the time span of maximum 5 years. National Coordinator (NC) in AIM Directorate will be taking care of ATL establishments across the country.
