Delhi Govt To Provide Free Laptops For 1,200 Meritorious Students

Delhi Education Minister on Tuesday announced that the cabinet has approved the Mukhyamantri Digital Education Scheme to provide free laptops and establish 175 Information and Communication Technology (ICT) labs in the national capital government schools to promote digital learning.

Announcement of Education Minister Ashish Sood

At a press conference, the minister announced that 1,200 meritorious students of Class 10 will be awarded free high-performance laptops with i7 configuration, adding that the total budget outlay for the scheme is ₹8 crore.

“Each ICT lab will house 40 computers, and the setup will follow CBSE-approved parameters,” Sood added. Alleging past lapses by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, Sood said, “All ICT labs that exist today were set up between 2015-2019 under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, in partnership with the central government, and they stand non-functional.”

Reacting to the allegations, an AAP spokesperson said, “Education minister Ashish Sood has developed a habit of ranting about the previous government. If there is any merit in this rant, he should order one more inquiry and refer this matter also to ACB to investigate.”

In May, the Delhi government announced that it had identified 100 government schools where free computer labs were to be set up in collaboration with a non-profit organisation. The initiative was taken under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on March 28 between the Directorate of Education (DoE) and the Ladli Foundation Trust, a non-profit organisation.

The DoE said that following a detailed feasibility survey conducted by the non-profit, 100 schools were shortlisted for the project, adding to provide basic infrastructures such as classrooms, electricity, lighting, fans, furniture and power backup, while each school will assign a teacher or coordinator to oversee the labs’ operations and sustainability.

ALSO READ:  Yellow Alert Issued For Delhi And Orange Alert For Mumbai: IMD