New Delhi: At this time of coronavirus lockdown when all the schools across the state have adopted to the mode of online education, Wet Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Bnerjee on Thursday said her government will provide free tablets to 9.5 lakh students of government-aided higher secondary schools and Madrasas. This will be done to make the online classes accessible to students.
“We (state government) will give tablets to 9.5 lakh students of all state-aided Higher Secondary schools and Madrasas. There are nearly 14,000 state-aided Higher Secondary schools and 636 government-funded Madrasas. Every student will get the tablets so that they can follow the online classes,” the chief minister said.
She said that the tenders will be floated soon to ensure that students get the gadgets on time to prepare for their higher secondary examinations.
The move from the state government comes at a time when large number of students, particularly in the rural areas are not able to attend the online classes because of lack of smart device at home.
“Schools are closed because of Covid-19. The online classes are going on. There are students coming from families who do not have a computer or laptop or even a smartphone at home. These students will be able to access the online classes on regular basis, the chief minister said.
In West Bengal, altogether 51 people succumbed to COVID-19 on Wednesday pushing the death toll in the state to 8,527. The tally went up to 4,90,070 after 3,271 fresh cases of infection were reported from various parts of the state. The number of people who were cured of coronavirus is now 4,57,377.