Students of municipal primary schools in East Delhi will finally catch up with their private school-going peers this summer, with the local civic body introducing computer-aided learning soon. East Delhi Municipal Corporation Mayor Harsh Deep Malhotra said all 224 buildings, from which 398 schools are run, will have computer labs in the coming academic session.
“When the new session begins in July, we will start by adding computer labs in 50 schools. After that, we will cover the remaining schools in two or three months,” said Mr. Malhotra.
Each lab will have 10-15 computers and one or two trainers to assist the children, who will be students of Class III to Class V. The project will cost the EDMC Rs.20 crore for a five-year period. The cost includes maintenance of the computers, and salaries of the trainers.The Mayor, who was the chairperson of EDMC Education Committee last year, said the work order for the project was issued in December, after the contract was awarded to the successful bidder.“The financial crisis that is currently plaguing the Corporation will not affect this project as funds for education have been set aside in the plan budget,” said Mr. Malhotra.
About 2.25 lakh children, mostly from economically weaker sections of society, study in the EDMC’s schools free of cost. Mr. Malhotra said for many of the students the computer labs would be the first exposure to technology.
