a day ago
Kwala and NCERT Sign MoU to Bring Immersive Learning to Students
NCERT- File image
Across India, the availability of advanced laboratory experiences remains uneven, particularly in schools where physical infrastructure, trained personnel, or safety resources are limited. This gap can influence how students understand and apply scientific concepts, with a direct impact on exam performance and readiness for higher studies.
On 13 August in New Delhi, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and Kwala signed an MoU to develop Prayog Shala, an augmented reality immersive chemistry lab for Class 11 students. The agreement was signed by a representative from NCERT and Shubham Raj, CTO of Kwala, accompanied by Saharsh Sinha, a member of the technical team, in the presence of Raman Malhotra, Research Manager at Mai Labs.
The initiative aims to deliver practical chemistry learning experiences through mobile devices, tablets, and PCs, expanding access to interactive science education in diverse settings. With Prayog Shala, students will be able to perform immersive virtual experiments aligned with NCERT curricula, bringing advanced laboratory experiences to places where physical facilities are limited.
NCERT shared that after seeing a demonstration of Prayog Shala, they found the product to be revolutionary with strong potential for large-scale implementation, and expressed appreciation to the team for developing such an innovative solution.
The goal is not only to digitise the lab experience but also to ensure that each experiment a student completes can be validated, recorded, and recognised regardless of location. This is enabled by blockchain infrastructure. Using the permissioned Kalp mainnet, student certificates, completions, and teacher verifications will be stored immutably on-chain. Kwala, the automation layer for the project, will manage notifications, periodic credential issuance, and governance guardrails, while integrating with NCERT's DIKSHA platform for nationwide scalability.
Such verification can have benefits beyond compliance. In a distributed education ecosystem that spans urban centres and remote villages, verifiable and tamper-proof records can strengthen institutional trust, reduce fraud in credentialing, and provide students with portable proof of learning. With more than 50 million students in NCERT's network, the potential reach is substantial.
The rollout will begin in one or two states before expanding nationally. Lessons from these early phases will help refine the programme. The design prioritises inclusivity so that even students in low-connectivity areas can benefit from immersive lab simulations.
'Our vision is to combine immersive learning with the reliability and security of blockchain verification,' said Mr. Tapan Sangal, Director of Kalp Foundation. He added that by integrating AR content with automated on-chain processes through Kwala, we are creating an education experience that is both engaging and verifiable.
The long-term success of Prayog Shala will depend on effective governance and adaptability. As technologies in education continue to advance, particularly in automation and AR, this initiative shows that large-scale, equitable innovation is achievable when access, trust, and accountability are central to design.
