In a first for UP, Pilibhit school to train students in drone assembly

PILIBHIT: In a first-of-its-kind initiative in Uttar Pradesh, UP Skill Development Mission (UPSDM) has launched a drone assembly and automation learning programme for upper primary students at the govt composite school in Barha village of Pilibhit district.UPSDM deputy director Mayank Singh Gangwar said the pilot project aims to introduce students of classes VI to VIII to technical skills at an early stage. Around 350 students of the school are expected to benefit.The project was conceptualised in December by former DM Pulkit Khare, who is currently special secretary in the state’s department of vocational education, skill development and entrepreneurship.Gangwar said the programme will be funded and technically supported under the CSR model by Yaskawa India, a Japanese company known for manufacturing industrial robots and advanced electrical devices.

The project cost is estimated at Rs 17 lakh.School principal Santosh Khare said a technical team from Yaskawa recently inspected the campus and work on rooms for the automation lab and drone assembly unit is underway. “The preliminary drone assembly kit has already been supplied to the school,” he said.Rajesh Raghvan, chief operating officer of Yaskawa India, said the objective is to expose children to technology beyond basic digital literacy.

“Introducing technology to schoolchildren at an early age helps them move from being passive consumers to creators of digital solutions,” he said.He added that teachers would first be trained as master trainers, who would then teach students drone assembly and basic automation operations.According to Raghvan, the multi-rotor drones assembled under the programme will be fitted with cameras and could later be used, after necessary permissions, in areas such as crop monitoring and tracking stray tigers in sugarcane fields.Gangwar said UPSDM plans to extend the programme to three more upper primary schools in Pilibhit in the current financial year.