The Andhra Pradesh government had promised laptop computers to several lakh students studying in classes 9 to 12 in government schools, but on Monday students were disappointed as they were not given laptop computers. According to government sources, regarding the plan to distribute laptops, they said that they are expensive and many digital learning apps do not work on them, so their plan has been changed. Now the government is considering to distribute only tabs to the students of class 8th.
The government has to spend Rs 12,000 on all the tabs equipped with digital learning content. “We are planning to distribute the tabs by September this year,” said a senior education officer.
According to the official, Class 8 students will have to use the same tab in the next class, so there will be no need for a laptop. Every year every student appearing in class 8 in government and aided schools will get the tab. Last year, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had announced that students of classes 9 to 12 can opt for laptop computers instead of Rs 15,000. 15,000 was being given under the Ammavodi scheme which is meant to encourage mothers to send their children to schools. He said that laptops would be distributed in the 2022 academic year. According to this, 8,21,655 students of classes 9 to 12 opted for laptop instead of cash amount. Of these, more than 1.10 lakh students were covered under another free scheme, Vasati Deewena.
But the laptops promised by the government could not be delivered as it had not struck any deal with the suppliers regarding the prices. Last week Education Minister Botsa Satyanarayana said they were negotiating the price with the suppliers and after that a final decision would be taken and the laptops would be distributed to the students along Ammavodi. The CM started distributing cash freebies in the third round of Ammavodi on Monday through the laptop of just one officer. In his address at the Ammavodi event, the CM talked only about distribution of tabs to class 8 students and not laptops.
