The Maharashtra State Certificate in Information Technology [MS-CIT] is a world class comprehensive IT Literacy course conducted by Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Limited [MKCL] in the state of Maharashtra. With MS-CIT, MKCL attempts to propagate IT Awareness, IT Literacy, IT Competencies and IT Applicability among the common people with a view to bridge the Digital Divide and the resultant Knowledge Divide and Development Opportunity Divide in the society.
The curriculum of MS-CIT has been structured on the following pillars of most essential digital skills for smart use of not only laptops and desktops but also smart phones and other mobile digital devices:
- Basic IT Awareness and Smart Typing Skills: to make smart use of available devices for
deriving actionable knowledge - 21st Century Daily Life Skills: to get the most of available technology and applications on computers as well as mobile
- 21st Century Citizenship Skills: to be able to access and make the most of government services which are now online
- 21st Century Study Skills: for students to make the most of the online resources for improving their studies
- 21st Century Office Productivity Skills: for professionals to increase their productivity at the
office using online computing resources. - 21st Century Novice-friendly Scripting Skills: for enthusiasts to understand the concepts of
programming - Netiquettes and Cyber Security Skills: for all to be safe online.
- Ergonomics and Go Green Skills: to sensitize all learners about the environment as well as maintaining physical well being in the digital age.
Apart from the skills taught, the pedagogical approach followed in the MS-CIT course ensures each learner is able to confirm the skills taught by validating the same during the assessments. The distinctive features of the pedagogy followed in the MS-CIT course is as follows:
- Output based learning in the form of socially useful productive work: the course makes a learner learn a tool through an output based approach rather than the usual tool based approach. For example, formatting in a document editor is explained in the form of creating a greeting card which includes using the tools for formatting rather than just explaining what the tool does.The outputs are in the form of Socially useful Productive Work [SUPW]
- Natural sequence of learning: In the course, a learner is taught a skill through a sequence of steps which is followed naturally. A learner starts from appreciation,moves to imitation, then emulation, and finally self expression leading to self confidence.
- Fork and Join Construct: in sequential learning to offer in parallel the different case studies
(but containing same concepts) for different interest groups among learners. - Situation – based content: in the form of hundreds of real-life situations
- Guided eProcessfolios: for every learner to make his digital portfolio of the skills he/ she has learnt in course with a visual evidence.
- Guided Do-It-Yourself (GDIY) facility: to help learners learn constructively and freely and yet rendering his/her performance observable in the background and admire him or guide him contextually.
- Support system to resolve doubts: Ask Live Expert (ALEx) facility with a 5 stage gradual support system to remote learners through eLearning framework.
Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Limited (MKCL) was promoted by the Department of Higher and Technical Education (H & TE), Government of Maharashtra (GoM), India and was incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956.
In order to make the capabilities of MKCL available to all the Departments of Government of Maharashtra, governmental coordination of the affairs of the company has been handed over from January 05, 2018 to the General Administration Department (GAD) from Department of Higher & Technical Education. Subsequently, it was allocated to Directorate of Information Technology under GAD.