- The partnership will benefit 170 million learners in the open schooling system in India
- BLEAP® for NIOS, a first-of-its-kind customized tech platform for education transformation launched as part of this collaboration
New Delhi, September 2, 2021: Microsoft and Ed4All today announced a partnership with the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) to transform learning and empower students with digital skills. Through this partnership, Microsoft and Ed4All aim to reach over 170 million learners across the open schooling ecosystem, providing access to tools, experiences, and skills needed to be job-ready in a digital economy.
As part of this collaboration, Microsoft and Ed4All have launched a customized tech platform for the NIOS Virtual Open School, BLEAP® for NIOS, that provides learners a personalized learning experience for improved learning outcomes. BLEAP® for NIOS brings together live classes and labs, recorded sessions, remote proctored exams and assessments, along with skill-based courses and certifications to provide a holistic learning experience. Students across NIOS will also have access to digital courses on technologies like artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cybersecurity, and data sciences among others.
Designed to create a better classroom experience that enables student success, the platform will provide easy-to-consume modules including live demos, hands-on workshops and assignments. BLEAP® for NIOS is built on the Microsoft stack of Teams, M365, and Azure, with security at the core.
Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Government of India, commenting on the launch of the NIOS Virtual Open School said, “Education is not a competition to acquire degrees, but a transformative tool. The government is working to ensure that internet reaches village schools across the country. NIOS Virtual School is a new model of learning and is an example how leveraging technology and innovation can facilitate greater inclusion in education. The school will provide advanced digital learning platforms through virtual live classrooms and virtual labs.”
Navtez Bal, Executive Director, Public Sector, Microsoft India, said, “Technology is playing a bigger role than ever in transforming education, improving learning outcomes and better preparing students for the new world of work. Our partnership with NIOS to empower over 170 million learners across the country is an important step in ensuring equity in education and skilling. As we rapidly move towards a digital economy, the skills of the future will look very different from the skills that are needed today. Along with Ed4All, we are committed to providing access to the technology, skills and resources that students need to succeed in a digital world.”
Sanjay Viswanathan, Chairman, Ed4All said, “Ed4All is delighted to partner with Microsoft and NIOS to power NIOS Virtual Open School through BLEAP® for NIOS, a custom-built learning platform developed for NIOS. This will enable every learner in the country to become employable through most advanced Open Schooling. BLEAP® stands for Blended Learning and Pedagogy – a Big Leap in school education. We are excited with Shri Dharmendra Pradhan Ji’s direction for us and Prof Saroj Sharma Ji’s appetite for rapid implementation. Ed4All is committed to enable India’s 170 million learners with access to affordable, world-class education, and develop them to face challenges of the digital age and be skilled and job-ready.”
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Microsoft set up its India operations in 1990. Today, Microsoft entities in India have over 16,000 employees, engaged in sales and marketing, research, development and customer services and support, across 11 Indian cities – Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, New Delhi, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Noida and Pune. Microsoft offers its global cloud services from local data centers to accelerate digital transformation across Indian startups, businesses, and government organizations.
About Ed4All
Ed4All is complete education SaaS platform, powered by a partnership with Microsoft, serving K-12 and Higher Education markets. Ed4All’s solution suite – BLEAP® for K-12 and learnEd® for Higher Education – addresses burgeoning demand for low-cost EdTech across public and budget private segments that represents over 90% of the total education market. Presently, Ed4All is the only EdTech firm partnering with Government (Central and State) to deliver NextGen Education to transform India. Ed4All’s goal is to enhance the educational system today with world-class technology and to provide Learners with school-in-a-box, assessments, widely recognized employability-enhancing certification, and marketplace, combined with access to jobs and venture capital. In short, Learner Base (Lb) x Learner Experience (Lx) = Social Impact.
