Haryana govt to distribute free tablets to class 10-12 students

The Haryana government would be distributing free tablets to students from Class 10 to Class 12 starting today. These free tablets will contain preloaded content in addition to personalised and adaptive learning software. 

The program will be rolled out for all 5 lakh government school students in the state, in grades 10 to 12, via a library-based model.  

"Taking forward Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Digital India' campaign under the visionary leadership of Chief Minister, Haryana, the government is going to provide tablets and free data to 5 lakh students studying in government schools," an official statement said.

According to an ASER survey conducted last year, nearly half (47%) of the students who did not have access to learning materials cited a lack of gadgets as a reason, while 10% cited a lack of internet. Due to working hours, digital devices owned by parents could not replace school-based learning time. On the back of these data and on ground feedback, offering device access was identified as the core solution to cope with this conundrum.  

The scheme has been named 'e-learning--Advance Digital Haryana Initiative of Government with Adaptive Modules'. It aims to mitigate the learning losses incurred due to Covid-19 and achieve higher learning level outcomes, it added. 

The integration of the personalised and adaptive learning (PAL) software will support classroom teaching by enabling an adaptive practice and personalised remedial learning for students. The selection of the EdTech partner was comprehensively implemented via evaluation based on IIT Bombay's Tulna framework and a four-week proof of concept and a thorough pilot program in government schools followed by a tender. 

Samsung, Airtel and Jio have partnered with the state for this initiative, the statement said. 

“The pandemic-led disruption observed over the last two-years, led to a deficit in the in-person teaching model," said Gaurav Goel, Founder and CEO, Samagra, a mission-driven governance consulting firm that has been working with the state government since 2017 to improve the quality of education in government schools. 

He added, "While the Haryana government took the lead in deploying technology to sustain the quality of education, this move will go a long way in improving access to devices to facilitate online learning. Based on parameters like device mobility, user interface, tablets were identified as the appropriate device for student learning.”