A co-ordinating officer at taluka level has been appointed for this purpose. (Representational)

The Pune Zilla Parishad has urged local residents to donate used smartphones, laptops, tablets and smart TV sets so that they can be given to poor families in rural areas, and children from those families can use them to attend e-classes during the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to Pune ZP, while it plans to commence online classes for about 14,000 students enrolled in its 3,600 primary and secondary schools, its surveys have found that about 50 per cent of families in rural areas didn’t have a smartphone. This affects the plan of the Education department to shift to digital teaching.

“About 50 per cent of students enrolled with ZP schools come from poor families and do not have a smartphone or any other digital device to access online education. If these families get such a device, it will enable them to join mainstream education. So, we are urging local residents to donate a working smartphone, tablets, desktop computer, laptop or smart TV to a ZP school close by,” read a directive issued by Chief Executive Officer Ayush Prasad.

A co-ordinating officer at taluka level has been appointed for this purpose. Last month, Pune ZP’s Education department had completed the admission process for its schools using an online portal, instead of a system that requires parents and students to visit the schools.