Sonepur: Online education and coaching through video conferencing has become an integral part of teaching these days.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi too launched ‘Digital India’ movement to put India in the race to compete with technologically advanced countries.
However, the campaign seems to have derailed in Subarnapur district due to miserable infrastructure in many government schools.
While computers are the most essential components for the campaign, students in 77 per cent government schools in this district have no access to them as the schools have no power connections, a report said.
How can India be digital and educated without getting computer education, questioned many locals here.
According to Odisha Primary Education Programme Authority (OPEPA) sources, there are 1,026 government schools in the district that include primary, upper primary and high schools. A large share of the state budget is pumped into education sector while the Centre regularly sanctions funds through schemes like Sarva Sikhya Abhiyan, RAMSA and RUSA. Despite this, only 236 schools have got electricity connections.
Even as grants such as School Improvement Grant (SIG) of Rs 5,000 for primary schools and another grant up to Rs 15,000 for high schools are sanctioned on a regular basis by the government, no measures have been taken to ensure power connections in government schools.
Though the government is laying emphasis on computer education from grassroots level, the students of most of the government schools are deprived of this.
This is one of the reasons that force the guardians to turn towards private schools to enroll their wards.
The ‘Digital India’ dream would remain unfulfilled unless all government schools are equipped with adequate number of computers, said OSSTA’s district secretary Pramod Panda.
“In the age of competition, students of government schools should be at par with their counterparts of private schools. It is a matter of regret that so many schools in the district don’t have power connections,” said Laxminarayan Sahoo, a teacher of Bagabar Nodal UP School in Birmaharajpur block.
He demanded immediate connection of power supply and computer education facility in all government schools in the district.
Power connection status in govt schools of Subarnapur
Block/civic body Total no of schools Schools with no power supply
Sonepur (Block) 134 103
Sonepur (civic body) 20 12
Binika(Block) 133 103
Binikia(Civic body) 21 18
Dunguripali(Block) 168 127
Tarabha(Block) 174 133
Tarabha(Civic body) 12 7
Ulunda(Block) 188 145
Birmaharajpur(Block) 176 142
Total 1,026 790
