New Delhi: The human resource development (HRD) ministry is mulling launching its Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) platform, SWAYAM, on 15 August.

The platform will host over 2,000 courses for up to 3 crore students across the country.

People with knowledge of the matter said preparations are in full swing for getting the entire system ready for the project.

“The project has the capacity to revolutionise the education system. It is expected to be launched by the Prime Minister on August 15," a person in the ministry who is in the know said.

SWAYAM, an information technology platform, will provide high quality education on various subjects from school (Class IX-XII) to under graduate and post graduate level, covering all disciplines.

About 2,000 courses shall be launched backed by a network that is expected to support 10 lakh concurrent users on an anytime-anywhere basis.

Through this scheme the ministry has proposed to provide high quality e-content to all colleges and universities free of cost.

The ministry has roped in Microsoft as the technology partner for this venture.

“When completed, it would bring in interactive eContent on MOOCs format of more than 2.5 lakh hours which would make it the world’s biggest repository of interactive electronic learning resource under a single window," officials said.

The UGC has already notified the UGC (credit framework for online learning courses through SWAYAM) Regulation 2016 which allows for transfer of credits earned through these courses into the academic record of the student in the parent institution.

“This would allow any student in the country to take the courses offered by the best teachers on SWAYAM, especially bridging the academic deficit experienced in the backward areas and helping raise standards of education," officials said.

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