Shaastra, the annual technical festival of IIT Madras, as part of its Christmas and New Year celebrations is aiming to spread computer literacy in schools in India with an event “Computer Literacy for All”, a joint initiative of Shaastra and NSS, IIT Madras. Making use of old computers donated by residents of the Institute, not only is Shaastra aiming to help the underprivileged, but also effecting a reduction in the amount of e-waste generated by the premier institute. In its second edition, the beneficiary is Dr P V Rao High School, Chennai.
The ceremonial handing over of the computers took place in the school last week. The Chief Guests were Mrs. Vijayalakshmi (the first lady of IIT Madras), Prof. L. S. Ganesh (the Dean Students of IIT Madras), Dr. John Bosco Lourdusamy (Faculty advisor for National Service Scheme- IIT Madras). The inaugural edition of this initiative happened in the Sevalaya orphanage in Kasuva village last year. The students managed to collect old computers irrespective of the condition they were in and got them repaired to set up a computer lab. With the help of the IIT Madras chapter of the National Service Scheme (NSS) in association with Deepam, an active NGO in the city, students would be aided in learning how to use this powerful tool by conducting regular classes.