SWAYAM: Rendezvous Quality Education and Life Long Learning

AkiNik Publications, New Delhi, Indi. 162
ISBN : 978-93-91538-91-0
Recent Trends in Digital Technologies
SWAYAM: Rendezvous Quality Education and
Life Long Learning
*Dr.N.Devaki, Assistant Professor,
Department of Education,
The Gandhigram Rural Institute (Deemed to be University),
Gandhigram, Dindigul District,Tamil Nadu – 624 302
**Dr.Billa Raja Rubi Kishore,
Welfare and Education Assistant,
Guntur city, Andhra Pradesh - 522005
**Dr.M.Deivam, Assistant Professor in ICT in Education (C),
Department of Education
The Gandhigram Rural Institute (Deemed to be University),
Gandhigram, Dindigul District,,Tamil Nadu – 624 302
Abstract :
SWAYAM is a government-sponsored initiative aimed at achieving the three
cardinal principles of education policy: access, fairness, and quality. The goal of this
initiative is to make the greatest teaching and learning tools available to everyone,
especially the most disadvantaged. SWAYAM aims to close the digital divide for
students who have been left behind by the digital revolution and are unable to
participate fully in the knowledge economy. This is accomplished using an in-house
created IT platform that allows anybody, anywhere, at any time to access all of the
courses taught in classrooms from 9th grade to post-graduation.The UGC announced
this in a gazette notification in July 2016.Essentially, this platform has evolved
through four quadrant approaches: video lectures, specifically prepared reading
material that may be printed, self-assessment quizzes, and finally, discussion forums
for more clarifications. The massive open online course, which is a methodology for
distributing learning content to a huge number of individuals online, is hosted on
this platform. This paper deals with journey of SWAYAM, scope, benefits, and
issues.
Keywords: SWAYAM, Quality education, Life Long Learning
Introduction :
The MOOCs stands for Massive Open Online Courses, which is admired
in foreign countries and India. Now-a-days many Indians were familiar with the

ISBN : 978-93-91538-91-0
concept of MOOC platform to develop their knowledge, technology and skills in
all the fields. TheMOOC courses are intended for the learners and open access
through the web. The MOOC was originated in2008 by Stephen Downes and
George Siemens named as Connectivism and Connective Knowledge. MOOC
course was first started in 2008 at University of Manitoba in Canada. Let us know
the meaning of Massive, Open, Online and Courses,
Massive :
Means large number of participants canen roll the online course without any
prescribed educational qualification and start the learning process.
Open :
The courses is open anybody can join and irrespective of any place.
Online :
Any one can access the online courses at anywhere and anytime with free of
cost.
Courses :
There are number of online courses available to various disciplines and any
body can enroll without any educational background.
Indian Platforms for MOOCS :
SWAYAM is an online learning platform, indigenously developed by
ministry of education, India. It is a great initiatives and given opportunities for a
lifelong learning of21st
century learners. It is an combined MOOCs platform for
online education that is directed to offer all the courses from school education
9th
stdtopost graduationlevel.SWAYAMwasdevelopedin2014, collaborative effort
taken by Ministry of Education and All India Council for Technical Education,
the Microsoft corporation created online learning portal and is capable of hosting
2,000 courses.
• NPTEL- stands for National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning
which is an initiative of seven Indian Institutes of Technology such as IIT
Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras, IIT
Roorkee and Indian Institute of Science IISc. NPTEL is creating online courses in
science and engineering. This project is funded by the Ministry of Education and
content of the courses mainly focus computer science and engineering, electrical
engineering, civil engineering, electronics and communication engineering and
mechanical engineering.
mooKIT : is a open source software MOOC platform developed in 2012, by IIT

ISBN : 978-93-91538-91-0
Kanpur to deliver and manage a course online. It has various features such as
adoptable to varying bandwidth, Discussion, Internationalization, Assessment,
certification, analytics, customizable, cost-effective, progressive App and digital
certifications.
• IITBX : is an Online Learning Platform developed by IIT Bombay. It provides
education both on offline and beyond. The main goals are access to education for
learning, enhance teaching and learning through online and spread quality
education. It focuses the three principles such as non-profit, open source platform
and collaborative effort. It focuses the various domains like animation,
communication, computer science, design education, Education & Teachers
Training, Engineering, Finance and Skill development. This platform is very
helpful to academicians, students, researchers, including educationally, socially,
economically, physically disadvantaged groups.
• IIMBx : started in 2014, this MOOC platform partnership with edx, not for
profit. IIMBx offers MOOC courses like management, economic, financial,
marketing etc. The main philosophy of IIMBx one can access the quality of
education irrespective of financial or constraints. Now-a-days IIMBx courses are
available on various MOOCs platforms including SWAYAM learning portal in
India.
Journey of Swayam :
SWAYAM is an Indian made online study platform developed by Ministry of
Education and All India Council for Technical Education, Microsoft Corporation
India developed the web portal for SWAYAM digital learning. The aim of
SWAYAM is to reach and satisfy three principles they are, ACCESS, EQUITY
AND QUALITY. The SWAYAM is to provide good learning, teaching resources
and materials to all learners. SWAYAM acts like a bridge to reach digital world
from the places where no digital awareness is present among students. SWAYAM
is capable of conducting 2000 courses and 80000 learning hours including school,
under graduate, post graduate, engineering, law and other courses.
SWAYAM is made available to students from grade 9 to post graduation. It
is like a wholesome package of having all courses that were prepared by eminent
teachers across the country and it can be made used by students at anytime,
anywhere. The core point is for any learners it is free of cost. The participants
involved in preparingthecoursesnumbersmorethan1000facultiesandteachers.
Features of Swayam :
SWAYAM is also known as Indian MOOC platform providing courses from High
school to university level with great teaching and fun way of learning. It is made
possible through the help of multimedia(audio, video, animated text, image). The

ISBN : 978-93-91538-91-0
state of the art system allows easy access (anytime, anybody and anywhere),
monitoring students learning, and certification process. In order to clear doubts of
students, peer discussion forum and Web conference were created. Synchronous
and a synchronous model of interaction enhance the quality education.
Four Quadrant Approach: SWAYAM in India was developed by All India
Council for Technical Education(AICTE). It comprises four quadrant approach.
They are,
 E-tutorials(video and audio forms, animation, virtuallabs)
 E-contents(Pdf/e-books, videolessons)
 Web resources(links, Internet content, casestudy, articles)
 Self-assessment(MCQ, Quizzes, Assignments)
National Coordinators :
 AICTE :
• (All India Council for Technical Education) focuses the
self paced and international courses of Technical Education
 NPTEL :
• (National programme on Technology Enhanced Learning)
offers Engineering courses to enhance the quality of
engineering education across the country in India.
 UGC :
• (University Grants Commission) offers courses to
undergraduate education to cover the common curriculum
in India.
 CEC :
• (Consortium for Educational Commission) for
Undergraduate education.
 NCERT :
• (National Council for Educational Research and Training)
focus the school education.
 NIOS :
• (National Institute of Open Schooling) offers courses in
school education.
 IGNOU :
• (India Gandhi National Open University)offer courses to
out-of-school students.

ISBN : 978-93-91538-91-0
 IIMB :
• (Indian Institute of Management Bangalore) offers courses
for the management programme.
 NITTTR :
• (National Institute of Technical Teachers Training and
Research) it focus teachers education programme.
Courses offered in SWAYAM platform is completely free of cost to any
learners but a student who needs certificate has to pay the amount and attend
the proctor exams. Learners could get the certificate only if the eligibility
criteria fulfilled with learners (Assignment and Final exam). Learners can use
the course certificate for credit transfers in university/colleges.
Scope of SWAYAM :
SWAYAM covers the following areas are given below;
 Curriculum based courses cover various disciplines like arts, science,
commerce, engineering, technology, law, performing arts, social sciences,
medicine, agriculture and humanities subjects etc.
 School education system (9 to 12 levels), SWAYAM covers teacher
training and provides proper teaching learning aids to make learners
understand the concept clearly and helpful to prepare competitive exams
and to join in professional course.
 Skill based course cover both secondary and post secondary schools
covered the areas of polytechnic and industrial skills.
 Recent curriculum and professional course offers course in SWAYAM
portal to meet the needs of Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) now
widely practicing in various educational institutions in India.
 The courses offered in SWAYAM platform, it can meet the demands of
life long learners in India and abroad.
All the course contents are designed well to meet the learners and follow a
suitable pedagogy (deals with child learning) / and ragogy (deals with adult
learning) and will provide model curricula to adopt the various universities
and Institutions in India.
Advantages of SWAYAM :
 SWAYAM is free of cost, learner can enroll any courses.
 SWAYAM has a great role in formal education process.
 The highly talented teachers developed the courses from IITS, IIMs and
from top most universities in India are connected through SWAYAM.

ISBN : 978-93-91538-91-0
 SWAYAM is also cover skill India program.
 SWAYAM helps to maintain the high standard of education in India.
 The quality education will reach different the parts of India at minimum
cost, efforts taken by Government of India.
Issues and Challenges of SWAYAM :
SWAYAM is wired with best courses, around 200 courses in beta version
present on it they started from January 2017 with the beginning of new semester
in formal education system. For some issues immediate action must be taken from
the Government. Following issues need to be addressed immediately,
 Traditional exam pattern focus only pen and paper mode of exam. In order
to make learners aware of online exams, Government has to spread
various policy of awareness. If the policy did not reach learners it will be
difficult to implement online examinations.
 The process of certifying MOOCS course was still in chaos between the
institution running the course and central body to certify. If
universities/institutions/collegesarecertifyingthenthereischanceforcredittra
nsfer.
 While learning through SWAYAM courses it is important to know the
benefits of credit transfer.
 It is confusing whether it would be possible for pupils to earn credit
transfers from SWAYA Mand combine credits from different institutions
to get adegree if prerequisites of degree programme are fulfilled. As per
UGC notification the selection of course to be considered for the credit
transfer is left to institutions to decide rather hangiving option to learners.
 In the first phase of launch it is proposed to at least have bilingual concept
ofEnglishandHindi.Butinnearfutureitmaybeconvertedtoregionallanguage.
 Accessing the Internet is still limited in rural areas. Using mobile for
learning will extend the reach of SWAYAM course users. Government
subsidized data charges will goal ongway in support of SWAYAM.
 In order to make successful outcome of SWAYAM course, Government
has to build training and retraining program for faculties to build the
MOOCS course and develop efficient programmes.

ISBN : 978-93-91538-91-0
SWAYAM BASED ONLINE CREDIT COURSES
(1) The SWAYAM-based online credit course calendar will be linked with
the traditional education semester, which begins in January and ends in July
each year.
(2) The course-coordinator is solely responsible for the development,
delivery, and assessment of SWAYAM-based online credit courses.
(3) The National Coordinator, with the permission of the SWAYAM Board,
will identify the course and course-coordinator in accordance with the
SWAYAM regulations.
(4) The course coordinator will provide SWAYAM-based online credit
courses through the Host Institution, which will award a certificate with
marks for credit transfer following the end-of-term proctored test.
(5) Every year, before the 1st November for the January semester and before
the 1st June for the July semester, a list of SWAYAM-based online credit
courses for the next semester will be posted on the SWAYAM platform.
(6) All higher education institutions must consider the online learning
courses that may be offered through the SWAYAM platform through their
competent authority within four weeks of receiving notification of the
SWAYAM based online credit courses under sub-regulation (5), and decide
which courses they will allow for credit transfer based on their academic
requirements.
(7) Regardless of what is stated in sub-regulation
(6), the higher education institution may only allow up to 40% of total
courses offered in a certain programme in a semester to be taken as an online
credit course using the SWAYAM platform.
(8) The academic council has the authority to speed up the transfer of credit
earned by a student at their home institution.
(9) On the advice of the Head of the Department, the academic council may
authorize the Dean (Academics) or Chairman, Board of Studies, to approve
the online credit courses of the SWAYAM platform for credit transfer.
(10) For the proper and smooth operation of the online learning of credit
courses offered on the SWAYAM platform, the parent institution shall
ensure that the physical infrastuctures required for pursuing such courses,
such as computer facilities, libraries, and other resources, are made available
for free and in sufficient quantities.

ISBN : 978-93-91538-91-0
(11) The parent institution will appoint a facilitator who will assist students
from enrollment through completion of the credit course.
Conclusion :
This pandemic (Covid-19) has had an impact on every area, including
education. The use of the e-learning platform has risen during this time. These e-
learning systems aid students in gaining complete access to the material. Virtual
courses allow students to engage with professors as well. MOOCs SWAYAM: It is a
national online network for students in grades 9 through graduate school. During the
shutdown, SWAYAM has introduced a new tab to its online portal called "Let
COVID-19 not halt your learning continues with SWAYAM." Students can access
all of the courses through https://swayam.gov.in/, which is the URL for SWAYAM.
References :
1. Deivam, M and Devaki, N. (2016).Role of E-Learning Empowering the
Digital Generation.
2. Deivam, M. (2016).ICT Tools for Tech-Savvy Learners.International
Journal of AdvancedEducation and Research, February 1(2), 10-13.
3. Gujarati, A., Elnikety, S., He, Y., McKinley, K. S., & Brandenburg, B. B.
(2017, December).Swayam: distributed autoscaling to meet slas of machine
learning inference services with resource efficiency. In Proceedings of the
18th ACM/IFIP/USENIX Middleware Conference (pp. 109-120).
4. Kamble. R. M &SantoshChavan (2020). SWAYAM – A FREE MOOC
COURSE; ITS CONCEPT AND IMPLICATIONS.International journal of
multidisciplinary educational research, 9(6), 91-99.
5. Kim, E. (2020, July). Designing Discussion Forum in SWAYAM for
Effective Interactions Among Learners and Supervisors. In International
Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 297-302).Springer, Cham.
6. Kumar, K. S., &Mahendraprabu, M. (2021). Open educational practices of
SWAYAM programme among research scholars. Education and Information
Technologies, 1-25.
7. Majumder, C. (2019). SWAYAM: The Dream Initiative of India and its uses
in Education. International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and
Development, 3, 57-60.
8. Mondal, G. C., &Majumder, P. (2019).IMPACT OF
‗SWAYAM‘TOWARDS ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT. Interntional
Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews, 6(2), 592-599.
9. Nayek, J. (2018). A survey report on awareness among LIS
professionals/students about SWAYAM: a government of India initiative on

ISBN : 978-93-91538-91-0
E-learning. Knowledge Librarian. An International Peer Reviewed Bilingual
E-Journal of Library and Information Science, 5(01), 39-45.
10. SWAYAM. (2021, November 30). About the
SWAYAM.https://swayam.gov.in/about
11. SWAYAM. (2021, November 30).UGC_Gazette-
Credit_Framework_for_Online_Courses_through_SWAYAM
.https://storage.googleapis.com/swayam1-pub-data/UGC_Gazette-
Credit_Framework_for_Online_Courses_through_SWAYAM.pdf
12. UGC MOOCs. (2021, November 30). About UGC
MOOCs.https://ugcmoocs.inflibnet.ac.in/index.php/credit_transfer

Cite reference
Devaki.N, Billa Raja Rubi Kishore and Deivam.M.(2021). SWAYAM: Rendezvous Quality
Education and Life Long Learning. In Anbalagan.s & Deivam.M.(Ed.). Recent Trends in Digital
Technologies(1st
Ed., pp.162-170). Akinik Publication, New Delhi.

SWAYAM: Rendezvous Quality Education and Life Long Learning

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