Under special drive, Himachal Education Department may give smartphones to needy students

Himachal Pradesh Polity and Governance

The Education Department is contemplating providing cell phones to poor students, who cannot afford smartphones.
It plans to launch “donate a mobile campaign” under which NGOs and individuals would be roped in and companies would be urged to fund mobiles under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme.
Education Minister Govind Thakur, who had a virtual interaction with over 48,383 teachers of 87 per cent schools and parents of 6.8 lakh students, said a small segment of students did not have smartphones while Internet connectivity was also a problem in some remote areas.
As many as 2,93,863 parents submitted their feedback on online learning. About 75 per cent were content with the quality of education imparted through the “Har Ghar Pathshala” drive. About 58 per cent parents said online teaching had helped in improving the quality of education during Covid times and should be continued.
As per a rough estimate, about 10 per cent of students of government schools do not have smart phones.
There are about 14,000-15,000 Below Poverty Line (BPL) students presently studying in Classes X and XII, who would be provided smartphones on priority in the first phase.
The Education Department will hold meetings with the BSNL and other telecom service providers to set up towers in places where the Internet facility is not available or the connection is weak, said Director, Higher Education, Amarjeet Sharma.