Teachers in government-run tribal schools will now teach students using next-generation technologies, including artificial intelligence.

Under a pact signed between the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and tech giant Microsoft, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) curriculum will be made available to tribal students in English and Hindi at the Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) and Ashram Schools across the country. Microsoft has adopted 250 EMRS in the first phase of the programme.

“Students from schools under the ministry will be mentored on projects involving AI applications for societal good and the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” a statement said.

“Students will also be trained and exposed to gamified environments on Minecraft to help build design thinking skills,” it said. Teachers will be trained in a phased manner to use applications like Office 365 and AI applications in teaching.

“Through these programs, our students would get the required skill set through digital transformation and this would open a new chapter with AI and coding being a part of the curriculum,” Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda said.

Navtez Bal, executive director, public sector, Microsoft India, said: “Our partnership with the ministry is a step to enable education equity, providing equal opportunity and access for the next generation of learners and educators from schools.”