E-learning: Tabs for students to cost govt over Rs 2,000cr

The Maharashtra government is planning to provide tablets to students of state-aided secondary school at a cost of Rs 2,250 crore as the first step toward introduc ing the e-learning system.

The state has approximately 75 lakh students of Stds 6 to 10, about 15 lakh in each class. At present, the government spends Rs 250 crore per annum on providing text books to the students in these classes. Providing tabs to all these students, at Rs 3,000 each, would reach up to Rs 2,250 crore.

“We will study the concept of e-learning on tabs. The issue will also be discussed in the legislature before finalizing the e-learning project. The school education department already had a meeting about the syllabus and cost with a few private firms which provide tabs. Also, other issues related to e-learning are under consideration. It should be user-friendly in rural areas too,“ said education minister Vinod Tawde.

“Apart from reducing the weight of school bags, learning on tabs would be an upgraded version of the education system.Tabs would be a better alternative to text books,“ added Tawde. He said the each tab will be used for five years.

On Wednesday , Aaditya Thackeray , Yuva Sena chief, along with a delegation of all senior Sena ministers--Subhash Desai, Ramdas Kadam, Diwakar Raote, Eknath Shinde--met Tawde and presented him a tab which the Sena had distributed in a pri vate school in Shivaji Park where Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had studied.

Appreciating the Yuva Sena's attempt of promoting a revolutionary education sys tem, Tawde said, “It is a good initiative.“

However, he said the government's con cept of the tab is audio-visual “so that it would be more useful to students, thus im proving the quality of education“.

Though experts welcomed the move, they said the only problem would be fi nance. “It would be a revolutionary step for the government. At a time when teachers have to fight for their remuneration, how will the government raise funds for tabs?“ asked Prashant Redij, spokesperson of the Maharashtra State Principal Association.

Source | Times of India |16 July 2015