21 more Atal Tinkering Labs for Karnal

Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, December 29

The NITI Aayog will establish 21 more Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATLs) in as many schools of Karnal district under the Centre’s flagship programme Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), which aims to bring the young minds of Class IV to XII on a single platform to create scientific temper and cultivate the spirit of curiosity and innovation for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Besides, the labs provide a workspace to young minds for giving shape to their ideas through hands-on do-it-yourself method and developing innovation skills.

The NITI Aayog has shortlisted the 21 schools and sent their details to the district Education Department. At present, one fully working lab is in Government Senior Secondary School in Bhadson village. The process to establish the labs in 10 other schools is in progress.

And once 21 proposed labs are established, their number will increase to 32 in the district.

The labs are being established on the pattern of Pushpa Gujral Science City, Kapurthala (Punjab), and National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi, and these will house the state-of-the-art technologies such as 3D printers, robotics and sensor technology kits.

The criteria to establish the lab is that the school must have a minimum of 250 students in the science stream at the secondary level with more than 50 per cent girls. Each school will get Rs20 lakh to establish the lab. Half of the amount will be given for starting the lab, while remaining amount will be given in instalments — Rs2 lakh every year — for the maintenance of the lab and equipment.

The shortlisted schools are Amar Jyoti Senior Secondary School, Kalri Jagri; Chaudhary Sant Ram Memorial SS School, Indri; God Sons Public Senior Secondary School, Ramba; Government Senior Secondary School, Kaimla; Government Girls Model Senior Secondary School, Railway road, Karnal; Government Senior Secondary School, Garhibirbal; Government Senior Secondary School, Faridpur; Government Senior Secondary School, Padhana; Government Senior Secondary School, Sagga; Government Senior Secondary School, Sambhli; Janta High School, Sambhli; Madhuban Public School; MM Public School, Jundla; Minerva Public School, Karnal; Rajkul Senior Secondary School, Gharaunda; Rising Sun Public School, Kutail; Saheed Udham Singh Senior Secondary School, Matakmajri, Indri; Swami Dayanand Senior Secondary School, Jainpur Sadan; Vivekanand Senior Secondary School, Karnal; and Vivekanand Vidya Niketan, Karnal.

Gulshan Dhiman, science teacher in the Bhadson school, said: “After the starting of the lab, students started working on innovative ideas of science and technology. A group of students worked on the model of a smart home and showcased their talent in a project at the district level.”

Workspaces to encourage hands-on learning among students

Atal Tinkering Labs are workspaces in schools where students of Class VI-XII can acquire innovative skills through hands-on learning. The Niti Aayog envisions nourishing 1 crore students as innovators in the future. The tools and equipment in the laboratories enable students to learn multiple STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) concepts. As a result, they are able to transform their ideas into reality. The equipment and do-it-yourself kits are mainly related to the latest technologies, such as robotics, microcontroller boards, 3D printing, and sensors.