Free tablets soon for girl students at KGBVs

Girl students at the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) in the State may soon get free tablet computers in six months if the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) has its way.

“A proposal (in this regard) has been sent to the State government but tenders have not been invited yet. The technical approval committee (TAP) also has to give technical specifications and recommend technical standards,” a source said, adding that the entire process would take at least six months.

KGBVs were started as residential higher primary schools to promote education among girls from Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Castes (OBCs) and the minorities. Under the SSA initiative, top three performers in class 8 will be given tablets in order to encourage them study further.

The number of girls, especially from backward communities, dropping out of school during this transitional phase is high. The initiative is mainly aimed at encouraging such girls to pursue higher studies with greater vigour.

Each tablet will cost about Rs 5,000. As there are 71 KGBVs in the State, the project is estimated to cost Rs 10 lakh. “Every tablet will be installed with an educational software besides other educational features that will help the students improve their learning abilities,” said the source.

Many KGBVs already possess the computing know-how thanks to the Computer Aided Learning Centres (CALC) which has been in operation under SSA for many years, the source explained. Hence, girls would not find it difficult to use the tablet. “If there is a problem, teachers under the CALC can always help the students,” the source added.

As per the analytical report of the District Information for Education (DISE) for 2012-13, as many as 13.32 per cent ST girls dropped out of higher primary school and 8.33 per cent out of lower primary classes — the highest among all castes and communities.

Girls belonging to the SC category have a dropout rate of 6.92 per cent at higher primary level and 2.97 per cent at the lower primary level.