Andhra Pradesh distributes over 4.5 lakh tablets with e-content to Class 8 students | Cities News,The Indian Express
Madhu Chandra
As part of the reforms in the education sector, the government is installing state-of-the-art teaching equipment at government schools which were revamped and repaired under phase 1 of the Nadu-Nedu scheme
To provide a better learning experience to school children, the Andhra Pradesh Government Wednesday distributed over 4.5 lakh phone tablets loaded with premium e-learning content to the government school students of Class 8.
Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, while launching the programme at Bapatla to distribute 4,59,564 gadgets to students, said that the government was ushering in a digital revolution in the education sector.
Apart from the students, 59,176 teachers were also provided with the tablets. The government has procured Samsung tablets at a cost of Rs 688 crore and purchased Byju’s content for Rs 778 crore as part of bringing sweeping reforms to the education sector.
While addressing the gathering of teachers, students, and parents, the Chief Minister said that the government aimed to enhance the education system in a holistic way through government initiatives.
“I am launching this programme as a good uncle to those children and an elder brother to those mothers. There are disparities between states in the per capita income, just as there are disparities between countries in the world. Similar gaps exist between communities in the state as well,” said the Chief Minister.
Quoting former US president John F Kennedy, the CM said, “All of us do not have equal talent, but all of us should have an equal opportunity to develop our talent.”
He said that the initiative of distributing tabs has been taken up to ensure that children receive fully-aided knowledge and education. “Education revolution has started in Andhra Pradesh. The distribution of tablets is not an expense for the government, but in fact a huge responsibility. It is the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government’s endeavour to develop schools that provide quality education to every child and also provide financial support to educate that child. It will ensure a bright future for the coming generations,” he said.
Admitting the prevalence of social discrimination in society, the CM said such practices must be eradicated. “A child has the right to education and quality education, which includes the right to learn English too. The English medium is not just the choice of the elite class, but for our ordinary children too. However, when it comes to our children, court cases are filed against opting for the English medium at schools, which is unfortunate.”
The state government is on the path of transforming the education system in the state by introducing English as the medium of instruction in government schools and introducing the ‘Subject Teacher Concept’ in the classrooms. The initiatives of the government are meant to enable the students learn subjects anywhere and anytime through phone tablets since it contains an SD card loaded with premium contents of classes 8 and 9, officials said.
As part of the reforms, the government is also installing state-of-the-art teaching equipment at government schools which were revamped and repaired under phase 1 of the Nadu-Nedu scheme. It will set up Interactive Flat Panels in every classroom in high schools and build smart TV rooms in foundation and foundation plus schools to encourage the use of English in classrooms. The interactive flat panels which will have e-learning materials will be installed in 30,230 classrooms in 15,694 schools from Classes 7 to 10, while 10,000 smart TVs that will have a variety of learning content will be given for Classes 1 to 10, sources said.