Haryana govt to distribute free-of-cost tablets to 8.06L students of Class VIII to XII – Times of India

The development has been announced by state education minister Kanwar Pal at a press conference in Yamunanagar.

Kanwar Pal said that during to Covid-19 pandemic to continue the education of the children the online education facilities are being enhanced.

“Tablets will be distributed free-of-cost to about 8,06,000 students of Class VIII to XII studying in the government schools of Haryana education department. These tablets will be provided to all the students studying in these four classes irrespective of their family or financial backgrounds”, said Kanwar Pal.

“It was also announced by me in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha that we are going to provide tablets to all the students of Class VIII to XII, irrespective of their category or background. The file of this development was with Haryana chief minister and after approval and sanction the file has came to our department on Wednesday. We have received an approval for spending more than Rs 500 crore for these tablets. Very soon, the tenders will be floated and the tenders will be provided to the students”, said Kanwar Pal.

He added that to ensure that the studies of children do not get affected during the pandemic, online education was started from the last year and very encouraging results have been received of the same.

“As per the prevailing situation, the online education facility can be continued. Therefore, it has been decided to provide the tablets to students to assist them in education”, said Kanwar while talking to media persons.

About the motive, Kanwar said, “We have observed that in today’s time the knowledge of computer is important for children. There is a large section of the students in the state which cannot afford to purchase the computer or tablets and they often lack confidence when compared to students who can afford these gadgets. So, we have decided to provide tablets to all the students to boost their confidence so that they can compete well. This will be good for the nation.”

To a query about board examinations of Haryana state board, Kanwar said, “Union ministry of education will issue orders with regards to the examination and the preparations of conduction examination will be done accordingly in Haryana. The Centre government is still in discussion with various states regarding the duration of the exams. As for the duration of Haryana state board exam, there are adequate arrangements in the state to conduct the examination of 3 hours duration. There is a plan to make the examination centers of the students in the same schools from where they are taking education, keeping their safety in mind.”