Keypoints:
- Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday virtually launched the second phase of the “Punjab Smart Connect Scheme”.
- It marked the distribution of smartphones to another 80,000 Class-12 students of government schools.
On Friday, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh launched the second phase of the “Punjab Smart Connect Scheme”, and marked the distribution of smartphones to 80,000 students of class 12 of the government schools to facilitate e-learning.
An official statement said that the event witnessed simultaneous distribution of phones in 845 schools.by various ministers, MLAs and other dignitaries across the state.
This move will be facilitating seamless e-learning in Government schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the first phase, 50,000 students had received smartphones. Under the scheme, the state government is spending Rs 87.84 crore for the digital empowerment of 88,059 boys and 87,284 girls, the statement said.
The CM also added that 877 tablet computers were also provided in 22 senior secondary schools on Friday at a cost of Rs one crore. Earlier, 2,625 tablet computers were provided to 372 primary schools at a cost of Rs 2.99 crore.He also underlined the need to promote sports education, for which his government is planning to set up gymnasiums in all schools
The CM said that the state government has ensured that every student studying in government schools gets the best education with the help of latest gadgets.
Further, he added that the School Education department has converted 16,589 classrooms into smart classrooms across the state and the remaining would also be covered under the scheme in the next six months.
Adding to this, the chief minister congratulated the teachers for preparing the e-content, which is now being used while teaching students online, and stressed the need for keeping up with the fast-paced changes in education globally.
Punjab government will be giving mobile phones to all 1,75,443 Class 12 students of which 1,30,000 have been covered till December 18, said the CM.
To facilitate seamless e-learning in our Govt Schools we had decided to give Smartphones to Class XII students. We will be giving mobile phones to all 1,75,443 Class XII students of which 1,30,000 have been covered till today. Will soon distribute the rest to students as well. pic.twitter.com/zQmIarBQv7
— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) December 18, 2020
“Will soon distribute the rest to students as well,” he added. Singh also virtually interacted with class 12 students of Government School Mohali during the event.
According to the Punjab Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) the remaining students will be covered by December-end. 22 senior secondary schools across Punjab get 877 tablets in this phase, said the CMO on their official Twitter handle.
