School computer labs to come under scanner

NT NETWORK

Panaji

The department of education will undertake review of computer laboratories in the local high schools as well as higher secondary schools during the forthcoming academic year, with a view to strengthen these labs by finding out if new computers and related software are required as per the transformed technology.

During the year 1999-2000, the Manohar Parrikar government, under the computer literacy programme, had evolved a computer education plan for enhancing IT literacy at school level by setting up the computer laboratories in all high schools as well as higher secondary schools in the state. This plan emphasised on developing computer laboratories by providing 10 computers to these schools, for educating students, as well as teaching and non-teaching staff.

Education director Nagaraj Honnekeri  told ‘The Navhind Times’ that many of the schools have expanded and upgraded their computer labs by putting

some efforts from different sources, like say St Francis Xavier High School in Mapusa now having a laboratory with 30 computers.

“On the other hand, some other schools have not been able to maintain their computer labs,” he admitted.

“In fact, the department of education has been giving annual grants to the schools for maintenance of their computer laboratories, as also has provided special teaching staff comprising computer teachers for these labs,” Honnekeri added, pointing out that earlier, the schools also used to charge some fees from students towards utilisation of these labs, and the collected money was used for the upkeep of the labs.

The director of education said that these computer labs have only desktop computers and the school managements carry out their repairs, etc as the need arises, and the arrangement is working.

“In fact, the Chief Minister has already permitted replacement of the computers in these labs with the new ones, wherever the need be, and that would take place in the course of time,” he informed.

“The particular scheme is a very old scheme, and needs to be reviewed, which we will do soon,” Honnekeri said.

The department of education had carried out servicing of the computers in all computer laboratories, at the state schools during 2010-2011, from an agency. Since then, there has been no such overhauling from the department.

Incidentally, a couple of years ago, Goa IT Professionals, a group of information technology professionals in Goa, had come out with its recommendations regarding low-cost revival of school-level computer education – curriculum as well as infrastructure – which has been in dilapidated condition.

The GITP had also advised that the nearly-dead school computer labs across Goan schools could be fully revived within Rs 2 crore, while the rest of the sanctioned money could be utilised to provide schools with solar-powered computer labs, smart-classrooms, funding for tech clubs, inter-school tech competitions, tech camps during vacations, etc.