BMC tablets for Std 8th students is sure for now!

BMC tablets for Std 8th students is sure for now!

FPJ BureauUpdated: Friday, May 31, 2019, 11:35 PM IST
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BMC standing panel passes proposal

Mumbai : The BMC’s Standing Committee passed the proposal for distribution of mobile tablets to standard 8 students of municipal corporation’s schools amid a divided opinion among the opposition parties. The tablets will be distributed to these students in this academic year itself.

While most opposition leaders did not oppose the venture, corporators within the Congress party and the MNS had conflicting views. MNS’s Sandeep Deshpande even pointed out faulty technical issues in the proposal. He said the tablets were not equipped with a bluetooth or wi-fi facility for adding new information to the tablets. He said if tablets are supposed to replace textbooks, Kindle would be a cheaper option. If the tablets are supposed to replace notebooks, e-notebooks would be cheaper. Deshpande said, “Both Kindle and e-notebooks cost between Rs 2000 and 4,000 as opposed to Rs 7,000 that the BMC will be spending for tablets.” Besides, the BMC has not conducted a survey to check the necessity of tablets or their use.

Congress’ Pravin Chheda argued that since the tablets are very expensive, clearly students will not be allowed to take them home after school hours. However, the schools are not equipped with sufficient charging points for exhausted batteries of each tablet every day. He told the standing committee, “I do not oppose the proposal but the BMC is clearly not prepared to handle it.”

Meanwhile, Congress’ Waqarunissa Ansari strongly criticised the proposal. She said, “The children will not be able to handle such an expensive item.  We will burden them with more responsibility.” She also added that the BMC has not yet been able to distribute essential items like compass boxes and pencil set which should be on their priority list.

SVR Srinivas, additional municipal commissioner, informed the standing committee that tablets have been provided with a USB port for transfer of information and students will be allowed to carry them home after school hours.

The standing committee passed the proposal worth Rs 21 crore despite severe opposition.

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