JOIN USPrime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday was all praise for Shiv Sena scion Aditya Thackeray’s initiative of distributing tablet PCs loaded with study material to high school students.
Thackeray, the grandson of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, also briefed Modi about the virtual classroom concept implemented in the Municipal Corporation schools in Mumbai. The 25-year-old leader, who heads the youth wing of the Shiv Sena, discussed plans on how the Digital India campaign could be dovetailed in his project of distributing tablet PCs to students.
Thackeray told the Prime Minister that 1200 tablet PCs have already been distributed among students of Class VIII, IX and X with the aim of reducing the burden of school bags. The aim is to distribute 25,000 such devices that have digital versions of all textbooks approved by the Maharashtra education board in Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati and Marathi.
“We spoke on how this could be taken across the country. He liked the tablet and he has kept one with himself,” said Thackeray. A PMO statement said Modi appreciated the initiative and complimented Aditya for the same. The praise for the Thackeray scion comes at a time when the Shiv Sena and BJP, partners in the state government, are at loggerheads ahead of the elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. The BMC is currently controlled by the Shiv Sena and the BJP is keen to get the civic body under its control. The BMC, with a annual budget of Rs 28,000 crore, ranks among the richest civic bodies in the country.
Thackeray also told Modi that the BMC has connected 200 schools run by the corporation via satellite and teachers can have a two-way interaction with the students.