Bhubaneswar, Nov. 18: Educators from ICSE-affiliated schools across the country have gathered here for the 58th Association of Schools for the Indian School Certificate (ASISC) annual conference that kicked off here today.

For the next three days, participants, including about 1,200 principals from various schools, will discuss ways to bring in a major revamp in the syllabus and examination pattern to suit the need of the hour.

This year the theme of the event is education in a changing world.

Inaugurating the event, Governor S.C. Jamir said: "Today, technology has become an inseparable part of education and has come a great way from the parrot-like pedagogy that was prevalent a few years ago. It has helped learning anywhere, anytime. No more limited to classrooms."

"However, in spite of all these, I would firmly say that technology is never a substitute for a teacher. We need teachers, who instead of teaching, should help their pupils become independent and motivate them for lifelong learning and help them become autonomous learners."

Stressing on the importance of moral values, Jamir said: "There is a crisis of moral values in most walks of life. It is the responsibility of the educational institutions to bring back the values in public as well as private lives. The institutions have role in grooming the students."

"The way we communicate, find information, read, learn and work have changed drastically in the last few years. The implication of these changes is tremendous in all walks of life. We need to rethink our practices as educators in response to these changes and this is why we are here," said secretary-treasurer of ASISC K.V. Vincent.

"This conference will definitely help educators make the education system much more flexible and responsive to change so that we can maximise human resources, equip young learners with updated skills and prepare them to face the future with greater confidence and build it with purpose and responsibility," said principal of Venkateswar English Medium School C.S. Pati.

The sessions will have discussions on grades and marks, smart classes, e-learning, extra-curricular activities and emphasis on practical studies in addition to theory. There will also be discussions on the need for a teacher-training centre for in-service teacher training.

Odisha has 75 ICSE schools, including St Joseph's School, Stewart School, Ruchika Public School, Venkateswar English Medium School, Loyola School and Seventh-day Adventist Higher Secondary School in Bhubaneswar.

Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations chairman G. Immanuel and chief executive-cum-secretary Gerry Arathon will take part in the discussions tomorrow.