Karnataka schools make a small leap, from desktop to netbook

Soon, the students of state higher primary schools will enjoy the benefits of netbooks. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan will provide netbooks instead of desktops to these schools in the coming academic year.

According to officials of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the project will be implemented in a few months. “We had received many complaints about the computers that were provided.  Moreover, we used to provide just five computers per school. This was not sufficient and we found it difficult to cater to all students. So, we have decided to provide at least 25 netbooks per school,” said an official from Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, who is handling the project.

The Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) meeting is also scheduled to be held soon. “After the meeting, we will start the process. The approximate cost of the project is Rs11 crore,” the official said.

Along with netbooks for students, each school will be given one laptop that teachers can use. This will help them teach students effectively. Sources at Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan said that the computers provided earlier had a battery backup problem.

“We had received several complaints on battery back-up, power problems, etc. Netbooks that will be supplied now will have a better backup. Also, netbooks are more comfortable than computers,” the official said.

This year, 332 state government higher primary schools will get netbooks. Basically, these netbooks come under the ICT (Information and Communication Technology) project.

In a few years, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan will cover all state higher primary schools. This way, students will be encouraged to learn the basics of computers, which will be helpful for them in the future. “Nowadays, computer education has become a part of regular education. So, we do not want our students to lag behind,” the official said.