The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development has selected 237 schools from J&K to be developed under the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) scheme. Although the state government had submitted a list of 319 schools, out of which only 237 could qualify.
An amount of Rs 1185 lakh has been approved for these schools which will be utilised for various purposes. These schools will be fitted with solar power systems costing around 640 lakh rupees.
Here are some quick points about the ICT scheme:
- Launched in 2004, with some revisions in 2010, the ICT scheme in schools is a component of the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan.
- It is aimed to provide opportunities to students of secondary classes to build their capacity on the ICT skills, besides making them learn through computer-aided learning process.
Read also: Viral video school kid singing Dogri melody - In ICT scheme, major impetus is laid on bridging the digital divide between students of various socio-economic backgrounds and other geographical barriers.
- It also provides support to states/UTs to establish computer labs on a sustainable basis.
As per other data:
- 3,039 government-run schools, including 2,457 primary and 582 middle, are functioning in private rented buildings across the state.
- Of the total 13,175 government-run primary schools in J&K, 8,687 have their own buildings, while the remaining schools are functioning from rented buildings.
- Similarly, of the total 8,140 middle schools, 582 schools do not have their own buildings.