Gurugram: SCERT completes phase 1 of AI push
Haryana's State Council of Education Research and Training (SCERT) has wrapped up phase 1 of its AI programme, training 1,150 teachers-cum-master trainers in the first week of December. The theme this year-"AI for education"-focused on giving government school teachers a practical foundation in AI so they can bring it into classrooms with confidence.
The intent is clear: close the tech gap between private and government schools, standardize core AI skills, and build in-house mentorship so training doesn't stall after a workshop ends.
How the first phase worked
Under the initiative, 50 master trainers delivered five AI modules to at least 50 teachers in each district. The design puts trained teachers in a mentor role, creating a multiplier effect across districts.
What's next: Phase 2 (starting January 2026)
- Format: Hybrid-online courses with a mandatory offline component.
- Scale: About 20,000 teachers to be trained by March 2026.
- Access: Bilingual, open to all teachers statewide.
- Quality check: Teachers must attend an offline session where mentors interview them on the five modules. Passing is required to be considered AI-trained.
- Leadership training: SCERT plans to extend training to District Education Officers (DEOs) and Block Education Officers (BEOs) in 2026.
AI awareness for students (Classes 6-12)
SCERT plans to introduce a basic AI awareness module for Classes 6-12 from the next academic session, pending approval by the Centre. The aim is to build early familiarity without limiting student creativity.
For curriculum alignment ideas, you can review the CBSE AI resources for schools here: CBSE: Artificial Intelligence (AI) - Skill Education.
Timeline at a glance
- Dec (first week): Phase 1 completed; 1,150 teachers trained.
- Jan 2026: Phase 2 launches in hybrid mode.
- By Mar 2026: Target to train ~20,000 teachers.
- Next academic session: Proposed AI awareness module for Classes 6-12, post approval.
- 2026: Training to include DEOs and BEOs.
What school leaders can do now
- Nominate mentors: Identify staff who completed phase 1 to lead peer learning circles.
- Block offline time: Reserve dates for the mandatory interviews and practical checks.
- Prepare infrastructure: Stable internet, device access, and a plan for shared labs where needed.
- Set micro-goals: Start with teacher-facing AI tasks-lesson planning, formative assessment, rubric generation, and feedback workflows.
- Document practice: Encourage teachers to record short use-cases (what they tried, what worked, what didn't) to speed up school-wide adoption.
Guidance for teachers entering Phase 2
- Revisit the five modules: Summarize key ideas and prepare examples you've applied in class.
- Bring evidence: Lesson plans, prompts, student work (anonymized), or assessment rubrics that used AI.
- Plan bilingual delivery: Keep your templates and slides ready in both languages to match course requirements.
- Keep it safe and ethical: Clarify rules on data privacy, age-appropriate tools, and plagiarism checks.
Designing the AI awareness module (for Classes 6-12)
- Keep it simple: Focus on concepts like what AI is, where it shows up, and its limits.
- Hands-on, low-stakes tasks: Short activities-idea generation, summarization, and reflection-without replacing original thinking.
- Creativity comes first: Use AI for drafts and brainstorming, but require students to refine and justify their final work.
- Teacher guardrails: Define when AI is allowed, how to cite AI-generated help, and how originality will be checked.
Why this matters
AI is now a basic tool in education. SCERT's model-train, mentor, assess-gives schools a clear path to build capacity fast, with accountability baked in.
Helpful resources
- Complete AI Training: AI courses by job role - useful for mapping teacher development plans and picking relevant modules.
"AI is no longer just a concept but has become an essential tool," said Manoj Kaushik, head of the education technology department, who added that the student module will be introduced in a way that does not hamper creativity, subject to approval.
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