Context: Recently, NIT Kurukshetra has implemented Enterprises Resource Planning (ERP), SAMARTH under National Mission of Education in Information and Communication Technology Scheme (NMEICT).
Key Points

• SAMARTH ERP is an open source, open standard enabled robust, secure, scalable, and evolutionary process automation engine for Universities and Higher Educational Institutions.
• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) refers to a type of software used to manage day-to-day business activities such as accounting, procurement, project management, risk management and compliance, and supply chain operations.
• ERP in a University can improve management and administration.
• The platform has been implemented at the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Kurukshetra, a participating unit under the World Bank-supported Technical Education Quality Improvement Program (TEQIP).
• It would automate the processes of the enhancement of productivity through better information management in the institute by seamless access to information and proper utilization of information.
• It caters to faculty, students and staff at a University/Higher Educational Institutions.

About National Mission of Education in Information and Communication Technology Scheme

• It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of MHRD.
• It seeks to leverage the potential of ICT in the teaching and learning process for the benefit of all the learners in Higher Education Institutions in any time any where mode.
• This was expected to be a major intervention in enhancing the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in Higher Education by 5 percentage points during the XI Five Year Plan period.

Objective

The three cardinal principles of Education Policy viz., access, equity and quality could be served well by providing:

• connectivity to all colleges and universities;
• providing low cost and affordable access-cum-computing devices to students and teachers and
• providing high quality e-content free of cost to all learners in the country.

Significance

• It seeks to bridge the digital divide among urban and rural teachers/learners in the Higher Education domain.
• It aims to empower those who have remained untouched by the digital revolution and have not been able to join the mainstream of the knowledge economy.
• It plans to focus on appropriate pedagogy for e-learning, providing facility of performing experiments through virtual laboratories, on-line testing and certification.
• Other initiatives include on-line availability of teachers to guide and mentor learners, utilization of available Education Satellite (EduSAT) and Direct to Home platforms, training and empowerment of teachers to effectively use the new method of teaching learning etc.

About Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme

• It was started in 2002 by the Ministry of Human Resources and Development with the assistance of the World Bank and is being implemented in a phased manner .
• It aims to upscale the quality of technical education and enhance capacities of institutions.
• The Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme III (TEQIP-III) was started in 2017 and will be completed by 2021.
• It aims to develop technical education as a key component for improving the quality of Engineering Education.
• The Objective is to improve quality and equity in engineering institutions in focus states such as in low income states.