Indian principals agree tech can never replace teachers
Speakers at India's Principals' Seminar 2016 discussed how technology can improve education, help educators to deliver better lessons, reduce operational activities and keep parents updated. However, the consensus was that technology can't replace teachers as they are essential in helping students understand concepts and in assessing their progress.

AHMEDABAD: The Times NIE Principals' Seminar 2016 was held on Friday, in association with Byju's at Hyatt, Ahmedabad. The evening saw a large gathering of principals from various schools of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar.The speakers for the day were Rasananda Panda, professor at MICA , Prof Subhash Bhatnagar , honorary professor at Indian Institute of Management, Dr Hansel Bhachech, psychiatrist, Kannan Somasundaram , senior assistant editor with The Times of India and Sahil Sheth, business head, Byju's. The guest speakers began the seminar by speaking on 'Transforming education with Innovation and Technology'.Prof Subhash Bhatnagar was of the view that help from an educator is essential to understand a concept and a benchmark needs to be defined to recognize mastery. Prof Panda highlighted that technology can transform education when we can take care of educators and ensure that they are not engaged in non-core activities.Dr Hansel Bhachech emphasised that discipline is the key when it comes to technology in education as technology has pros and cons.In his opening remarks, Kannan Somasundaram pointed out that no matter how much we integrate technology, it will never be able to replace real gurus. He said, "Technology should be used by schools to place a big screen where slum and street kids can attend classes. Sahil Sheth, business head of Byju's, made references to how technology is helping offer students information in interesting ways, making the lives of educationists simpler by reducing their operational burden and helping parents stay updated with activities and announcements of schools.After the speakers expressed their views, the floor was open for an interaction, where the principals put forth their queries and shared their perspectives with the speakers.