The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Minister of State for Education, Mr. Jayant Chaudhary, visited the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) in Maharashtra’s Pune district today. The minister reviewed the progress being made to implement the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. He also held detailed discussions on programmes like NIPUN Maharashtra Mission, PM SHRI Schools, vocational education pathways, digital learning initiatives, and the School Quality Assessment and Assurance Framework (SQAAF).

Taking note of Maharashtra’s progress in leveraging technology in education through AI-enabled tools, Mr. Chaudhary appreciated initiatives such as AI Saathi for Educators, which is enabling teachers to use AI tools for lesson planning, assessment and content creation. Underscoring the importance of skill delivery models such as “Skills on Wheels, Mr. Chaudhary said such initiatives are essential to bring vocational training to learners at the grassroots level and advance the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.

According to an official press release, Mr. Chaudhary asked officials to document and share Maharashtra’s best practices in areas of digital pedagogy, skill integration, and classroom-level implementation with other states.

Maharashtra’s Commissioner (Education), Sachin Pratap Singh; Director In-Charge, SCERT Maharashtra, Dr. Nandkumar Bedse; and other senior state education officials were present during the visit.