NEW DELHI: In a bid to make the online classes accessible to all students, especially those who do not have access to smartphones, laptops and internet facilities, the Delhi government has decided to distribute tablets to all Class XI students of Rakjiya Pratiba Vikas Vidyalayas, including the five school of excellence.
There are 21 RPVV schools in Delhi with about 7,000 students. This excludes the students in 1,031 government- run schools. Other than the tablets, an OTG cable and an earphone will also be provided.
"The schools should ensure that all the accessories (tablet cover, OTG cables and earphones) are provided to the students along with the tablets. The computer science teacher will also install education related applications like e-pathshala and edudel support material in the tablets," said a circular sent to all heads of RPVVs.
The education department has also asked the computer science teachers to provide technical support to the students. It will monitor the distribution of tablets to the students and the support provided by teachers.
Last year, the Aam Aadmi Party government distributed tabs to all students of Class XII and X of RPVVs and schools of excellence only. In the remaining government schools, tabs were provided to only meritorious students who scored above 80 percent. Many teachers and students had felt discriminated against and left out.
"This is discrimination as many students who study in government schools also come from a very poor financial background. Many of my students are not attending online classes as they do not have a smart phone or any computer facility. So, why is the government not providing tablets to the rest of the students?" asked a government school teacher.
"Currently, there is no such plan to distribute tablets to the students of all government- funded schools this year. Besides, there is no discrimination; the government started the initiative as a pilot project with RPVVs and schools of excellence and the tablets were provided to all the students who scored above 80 per cent," said a senior Delhi government official.