A digital touch to govt school education
For the children of Government Sarvodaya School, Pitampura, education has taken a different meaning.
For the children of Government Sarvodaya School, Pitampura, education has taken a different meaning.
Microsoft and Hewlett Packard have rolled out the first of its kind computer laboratory in the school, which is likely to alter education in government schools for the better.
Equipped with 15 computers, the laboratory can accommodate 30 students at a time. The textbook used by the instructor from Learning Links, has been based on the NCERT model.
While at present, there is a high rate of student dropout and teacher absenteeism in some of the government schools, this project through its biometric attendance system, promises to check that as well.
“This is the first school to experience this kind of technological development. All teething problems such as opposition by the staff were handled by the principal,” said Sunil PP, director, sales, India Education, Microsoft India.
Though a makeshift structure, the lab has been constructed in a manner that it will take care of all sorts of climatic changes.
“Since it is an iron structure, we have put in the requisite technology inside to insulate it. Also, any further infrastructure cost will be borne by us,” said Jaijit Bhattacharya, corporate director of Global Government affairs, Hewlett-Packard India.
Students too, are rejoicing at the pressure-free curriculum, claiming the project has made classroom learning more interesting. “This is very different from regular classroom learning. Within the 40 minutes, we try our hand at painting and since there is no exam, there is no pressure to perform,” said Pallavi Chhillar, a class 9 student.
At the same time, teachers say it has helped expedite their administrative tasks. “Earlier computing marks was a tedious task. This has simplified our workload as we use Excel sheets for calculating results,” said the school’s Mathematics teacher.