ALLAHABAD: After watching with envy students from small towns receive laptops from the chief minister, city students are waiting for their turn right after the state government gives its consent to the first phase of the laptop distribution programme on June 23. Even as truckloads of laptops have started arriving at the district collectorate, Education department officials and school management are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that students can handle and operate the sleek gadget in an appropriate manner. To accomplish this task, teams of IT professional from the company which is supplying the laptops to the state government is conducting training session for students while the Education department will groom the students on how to walk up to the dais to receive their prize, etc. Stating that in the initial phase around 18,000 laptops would be distributed to students who have passed out 10+2 examination in 2012 with UP Board, CBSE, or ISC, district inspector of schools (DIOS) Mahendra Kumar Singh said "Although we are still awaiting the nod from the state government on the proposed laptop distribution programme on June 23 and the availability of the state chief minister on the date, we are pretty sure it would all be on schedule." In this connection the company entrusted with the job of supplying laptop to the state government is conducting a 3 hours training session daily for students at different schools on the intricacies of handling and operating the highly sophisticated electronic gadget. "Once this exercise is over, we would be imparting them training on how to move towards the dais in an organised and systematic manner to receive the laptop from the chief minister," he added. Only those students who have passed out 10+2 from schools in Allahabad and are enrolled in graduation at local institutions of higher studies would be eligible to receive the laptop. The benefit would not be applicable to students who have passed Inter or similar course from institutions in Allahabad and are pursuing higher studies in other districts/ states and foreign universities/institutes. This clause brings down considerably the number of applicants claiming the device under the scheme as many among them are pursuing B Tech, MBBS, BA, B Com, B Sc and other related courses at institutes/universities in states like Karnataka, West Bengal, Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. In Allahabad, the number of candidates who have passed 10+2 from different boards is well around 1 lakh but once the number of those who are studying in states other than UP is worked out, the number would come down sharply. Talking to TOI, senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader, Abhishek Yadav, said: "Education is a state subject and distribution of laptop is the flagship scheme of SP government which has every right to frame guidelines in the interest of people and institutions of the state." He added that the step would also encourage the growth of institutions of higher learning in the state and act as deterrent for students moving to other states.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Jun 2013 06:08:19 +0000