Delhi Govt To Distribute Free Laptops To 1200 Meritorious Students, Establish ICT Labs
Under the Mukhya Mantri Digital Education Scheme, students from Delhi government schools who achieved high marks in Class 10 will receive i7 laptops.
The Delhi government announced on Tuesday that it will provide free i7 laptops to 1,200 top-performing students who excelled in their Class 10 exams, PTI reported. Additionally, 175 government-run schools will have ICT labs established, according to Education Minister Ashish Sood.
During a press conference, Sood highlighted that these 'historic" decisions were made at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.
Under the Mukhya Mantri Digital Education Scheme, students from Delhi government schools who achieved high marks in Class 10 will receive i7 laptops. This initiative aims to support their future digital education needs in line with the National Education Policy, as per the minister. The scheme is expected to cost Rs 8 crore, he added.
Sood criticised the previous AAP government's claims of an 'education revolution," pointing out that none of the 1,074 government schools had functional computer labs. He stated that the Cabinet, led by the chief minister, decided to establish Information and Communication Technology (ICT) labs in 175 schools during the current session, the PTI report added.
Each ICT lab, designed to meet Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) standards, will be equipped with 40 computers, Sood explained.
The education minister also mentioned that the Delhi government recently signed an MoU with a private organisation to set up 100 ICT labs in 100 government schools as part of a corporate social responsibility scheme.
Sood further alleged that the previous AAP government did not establish a single computer lab in schools and failed to maintain those built under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan. Computer labs were constructed in 907 government schools between 2015 and 2019 during AAP rule, funded by the Centre under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan. However, all these labs remained non-functional, Sood claimed.
Additionally, the minister announced that an orientation programme for nursery to Class I students and their parents will be held at all Sarvodaya Vidyalayas under the Delhi government on Wednesday.
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