NITI Aayog has planned to establish 1,000 Atal Tinkering Laboratories in Jammu and Kashmir. Out of these, 187 will be established by the end of this financial year. It was conveyed at a high-level meeting headed by Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta to take stock of arrangements for opening Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATL) in various educational institutions of Jammu and Kashmir.
“NITI Aayog will be establishing 1,000 Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATL) in Jammu and Kashmir, of which 187 will be established by the end of this financial year,” they said, as reported by PTI.
The initiative behind this is to boost cognitive development in children where they are given avenues to experiment and widen their understanding of phenomena on scientific ideas.
How will 187 laboratories be established?
Out of the 187 laboratories to be established, 31 will be established across government schools of the union territory whereas 50 will come up in various educational institutions, including KVs, JNVs, and private schools, the officials said. The process for establishing the remaining 106 labs will also be initiated shortly.
The chief secretary directed the School Education Department to fix timelines for establishing these laboratories in various districts of the UT and also emphasise the nomination of trainers and champions against suitable incentives.
The School Education Department was further asked to explore industrial linkages which can be created to tap the IT and technical prowess of the younger generation in finding scientific and innovative solutions to existing problems.
