Karnataka govt, Meta kickstart online safety programmes in colleges

"This initiative will cover 100 colleges and universities across Karnataka, where students will become master trainers and promote peer learning. The training will focus on digital safety and awareness. In the first phase, Bengaluru, Mysuru, Kalaburagi, Belagavi, and Dakshina Kannada will be covered, with the remaining districts to follow in the next phase," said Kharge.

"Karnataka and Meta embarked on an ambitious journey earlier this year to empower 1 lakh teachers and 10 lakh students with digital safety knowledge and augmented reality/virtual reality (AR-VR) skills by 2025," said a statement from the Karnataka IT department.

“The Karnataka government recognises the urgent need to address cybersecurity at the grassroots level. We are committed to empowering our students with the education they need to protect themselves from the ever-evolving threats in the cyber landscape. This campaign is not just about teaching our children how to create strong passwords or recognize phishing scams – it is about instilling a mindset of vigilance and responsibility that will stay with them for life,” Kharge added.

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The Karnataka government signed a Letter of Intent in November 2023 and entered into a two-year partnership with Meta for digital education and online user safety of the students.

"Karnataka is the first state in India to collaborate with Meta on this initiative. Under this online safety initiative, 10 lakh students between the ages of 18 and 24 from different schools and PU colleges across the state will receive digital awareness training. Meta will also train and deploy master trainers across these schools and PU colleges who will, in turn, train the students in digital safety knowledge and AR-VR skills," said state IT-BT secretary Ekroop Caur.

The comprehensive curriculum designed for this Digital Nagrik programme involves workshops, seminars, and hands-on activities to engage students of all ages, apart from classroom lessons. These workshops will be conducted in both Kannada and English to make them accessible to all sections of the state’s population.

"This joint program aims to equip students and education professionals across Karnataka with essential digital skills to stay safe online and become well-informed citizens, while also assisting them professionally," said Caur.

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