News


Commonwealth Asia Countries Commit to Regional Collaboration on Blended TVET at Valedictory Session in Chennai

Chennai, 8 October 2025

The three-day Consultative Meeting on Developing a Blended Learning Model for Polytechnic and ITI Institutions in Commonwealth Asia concluded on 8 October 2025, with a valedictory session that celebrated collaborative achievements and charted a clear path forward for regional TVET transformation.

The closing session, held at NITTTR Chennai, brought together senior officials and education leaders from six Commonwealth nations—Bangladesh, Brunei, Maldives, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and India—who reflected on intensive deliberations, shared learning experiences, and concrete action plans developed over the course of the meeting.

Participants Share Reflections and Next Steps:

The valedictory session commenced with participants sharing their reflections on the three-day journey. Delegates highlighted the value of peer learning through case studies, the depth of technical sessions on blended learning frameworks, and the practical insights gained from group work on institutional readiness, curriculum design, pedagogy, technology integration, and faculty development.

Read More
Consultative Meeting on Blended Learning for TVET Institutions in Commonwealth Asia Begins in Chennai

Chennai, 6 October 2025

The Consultative Meeting on Developing a Blended Learning Model for Polytechnic and ITI Institutions in Commonwealth Asia kicked off on 6 October 2025 with a traditional lamp-lighting ceremony. The three-day event (6–8 October 2025), jointly organised by the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA) and the National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training and Research (NITTTR), brings together policymakers, institutional heads, and experts from Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, India, Malaysia, the Maldives and Sri Lanka to chart a roadmap for scalable, inclusive, and future-ready skills development in the TVET sector.

Welcoming delegates, Prof. Usha Natesan, Director, NITTTR Chennai, outlined the meeting’s objectives and expected outcomes, stressing the importance of regional cooperation and institutional partnerships to build resilient blended-learning ecosystems.

Read More
Empowering Community Radio through Tech-Enabled Outreach Workshop

New Delhi, 23 September 2025

On 23 September 2025, the second capacity building workshop on “Empowering Community Radio through Tech-Enabled Outreach", was jointly organised by COL-CEMCA, Ram Lal Anand College (RLAC), University of Delhi, and Reliance Foundation  at Ram Lal Anand College, New Delhi.

Mr. Senthilkumaran Krishnan, Head of Platforms, Reliance Foundation, Mumbai, welcomed participants and emphasised extending Community Radios’ (CRs) impact through digital tools. He highlighted the workshop's hands-on approach, combining theory with practical exercises in content creation and audio dissemination. Mr. Krishnan outlined key follow-up actions over three months to boost engagement and refine community media initiatives, emphasising the importance of community-driven media for climate resilience.

Read More
CEMCA and GGSIPU Host Faculty Development Programme on Technology Enabled and Blended Learning
New Delhi, 23 September 2025
 
Over 300 faculty members representing higher education institutions across India participated in the five-day Faculty Development Programme (FDP) on “Technology-Enabled and Blended Learning” from 15 to 19 September 2025. The training was jointly organised by the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA) and Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU), New Delhi.
 
The Faculty Development Programme (FDP) was designed to equip tertiary education educators with the skills to implement technology-enabled blended learning practices for employability-oriented courses, specifically by harnessing Open Educational Resources (OERs), MOOCs, and microcredentials. Professor Mahesh Verma, Vice Chancellor, GGSIPU, in his presidential address, emphasised the evolving role of educators in the digital age, remarking, “Technology can provide information, but the teacher is the one who will provide inspiration.”
 
Read More
Developing a Framework of Teacher Competencies for Inclusive Education in Commonwealth South Asian Countries

Bostwana, 9 September 2025

On 9 September 2025, COL-CEMCA hosted a hybrid pre-conference workshop at the Gaborone International Convention Centre (GICC) in Botswana on the topic of "Designing a Teacher Competency Framework for Inclusive Education in Schools."

The workshop brought together high-level representatives from countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, and Malaysia, representing ministries of education, policymakers, and inclusive education experts to strengthen regional networks and advance inclusive education across South Asian Commonwealth countries.

The workshop aimed to co-develop a comprehensive teacher competency framework for inclusive education at the regional level, focusing on children with specific learning disabilities (SLD), visual impairments, and other physical disabilities. To ensure an evidence-based and regionally relevant outcome, the workshop identified challenges, shared best practices, and developed a roadmap for piloting and improving the framework across South Asian Commonwealth nations.

Read More