VIJAYAWADA: “This is a God-given gift for me to celebrate my birthday with children, for whom we should provide good education that will be the best asset for their future.”
So stated Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy as he launched the distribution of e-tablets to students of Class VIII in Sri Alapati Venkataramaiah Zilla Parishad High School at Yadlapalli village in Bapatla district on Wednesday.
The chief minister said the government started the digital revolution in every school by offering modern English medium education through digital platforms so as to ensure “equality in education.”
Under this initiative, 5.18 lakh e-tablets worth Rs. 686 crore would be distributed to students free of cost.
Celebrating his birthday amidst cheers from school children, the chief minister ushered in the “digital revolution” by distributing free tabs to Class VII students and announcing that the system of digital classrooms would begin from the next academic year.
Recalling the struggles of the parents who could not afford to educate their children, which he noted during his padayatra, the chief minister said education was the only way to change the minds and fate of the students.
Keeping this in mind, the YSRC government has brought in revolutionary changes in the education sector, Jagan said.
He said that around Rs. 686 crore was spent to distribute 5,18,740 tabs loaded with content of a private online education player free of cost to 4.59 lakh students, apart from teachers. These tabs can be used even in offline mode. The cost of each tab with its content would be Rs. 32,000, which will be met by the government.
He said the state government’s intention was to facilitate digital mode education to enable students to easily learn lessons both in classrooms and at their homes.
The distribution of tabs will continue for a week across the state and the distribution will continue every year as new students enter Class VII.
Highlighting the salient features of the tab, Jagan said that besides Telugu, English and Hindi, the curriculum is designed in eight languages, based on CBSE syllabus. It would help prepare students to perform well at national level competitive exams.
He noted that a mobile device management software has been installed in the tab to secure data and to track the student activities. This would deny the students access to any undesirable material.
“Children’s mindset will change with a good education system. Our aim is to make future generations better citizens. Every family can grow only if there is equality in education,” the CM asserted.
He said a total of Rs. 54,910 crore was spent by the government on reforms in the education sector in the past three and a half years.
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