Country's schools have PCs, but no power

While the country’s elementary schools may not have problems in getting personal computers for their students, they have to let the machines gather dust due to lack of electricity.

According to the flash statistics compiled by the National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA), only 4.80 per cent of schools in Bihar had power connectivity and computers had therefore been lying idle at 48.13 schools in 2012-13.

The situation is not very different in Jharkhand, Assam and Tripura where 80 per cent of schools do not have power connectivity while 72 to 74 per cent of them have computers.

Even in Karnataka, while 81.11 per cent of schools have functional computers, 96.54 of them remain without power.

While 80 per cent of elementary schools in West Bengal purchased PCs, only about 35.48 per cent of them have power to put the machines to productive use. NUEPA’s survey  also noted that all the schools in Chandigarh, Puducherry and Lakshadweep had power supply, but many in these regions do not have computers in their laboratories.