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Rs 30-billion plan for grassroots IT education

Bipin Chandran

The ministry of communications and information technology is working on a proposal to set up computer education facilities at the block level over the next five years.

The Rs 30-billoin initiative is part of government's efforts to spread infotech education at the grassroots level.

As per the plan, christened Modified Vidyarthi Computer Programme, 60,000 schools will be equipped with infotech education facilities, including labs, Internet connectivity and computer-based educational materials.

The government is also looking at the possibility of roping in the private sector to partly fund the project.

"The private sector can get involved in the initiative by providing grants or by donating equipment at subsidised rates. We will initiate talks with private players once the project is finalised," an senior official in the department of information technology said.

While the central government will provide 10 per cent of the Rs 30-billion project needed for the project, the rest is expected to come from other agencies like state governments, non-resident Indians and non-government organisations.

"There is also a proposal to set up a separate corpus to finance projects under the Modified Vidyarthi Computer Programme. State governments can also look at ways to mop up funds to support this project," the official said.

The department of information technology will provide free Internet access, computer-based educational material and training for teachers.

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