ON EDUCATION: Lydia Fernandes addressing participants of the ICT teachers' workshop at the inaugural function in Mangalore on Tuesday.

MANGALORE: There is a need to make education globally competitive in this age of information, said Lydia Fernandes, secretary, The Apostolic Carmel Educational Society.

Speaking at the inauguration of a three-day State-level workshop on Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-enabled teaching, organised by St. Anns College of Education with financial assistance from the University Grants Commission Dr. Lydia stressed ICT could be a tool to revolutionise education. In the process of traditional systems of teaching giving way to more interactive and collaborative processes, technology could play a major role.

Competitiveness

She spoke of the various issues in education today such as commodification, lack of global competitiveness and the weak linkage between education and industry in India.

"Technology is an instrument to ensure Total Quality Management (TQM). But technology alone is not sufficient. The core of the learning process is the teacher," she said. Of all the factors that influence the learning process, the competence of teachers was vital, she said. There was a need to recruit the best teachers, create satisfactory work conditions and provide necessary professional skills. Information and Communication Technology has become a part of that necessary skill set, she added. Flosy D'Souza, workshop co-coordinator, said the aim of the workshop was to familiarise college teachers with Information and Communication Technology and web-based teaching.

The use of technology can enhance the learning process.

The aim of the workshop was to help integrate Information and Communication Technology into the teaching and learning process at the college level.

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