Hundred remote community, primary and lower secondary schools around the country should be able to learn the basics of computers when the 2006 academic session begins.
The department of information technology through a government of India funded programme will begin distribution of 300 computers to the 100 selected schools from December 19.
Each school will get three computers, a printer, free internet and maintenance for a year. Students from rural schools should at least know what a computer is, said Sangay Wangmo with the department of information technology.
This week 25 teachers from the remote schools around the country completed a 10-day training in basic computer operations in Phuentsholing. Many of them had not touched a computer in their life.
The participating teachers are expected to teach the students of their schools the basics of a computer starting the next academic year.
More than 95 percent of the beneficiary schools do not have a computer today, said Sangay Wangmo. While majority of the selected schools had electricity, some were still using solar panels. Schools which do not have telephone connectivity would be given Internet connectivity through wireless technology, Sangay Wangmo told Kuensel.
Sonam Peljor, the head teacher of Hebesa community primary school in Wangduephodrang, one of the selected schools, said that he had never used a computer in his life. With 85 students in his school from pre-primary to the Class V, he plans to teach the senior students first on basic computer operations.
A teacher from Konbar community primary school, about four hours walk from Mongar town, Karma, said that students in her school had no chance to know about computers today. Ugyen Samdrup swore that none of the 185 students in his school would ever have even seen a computer. Nobody in Ngatshang has a computer. The nearest computer would be in a few offices in Yadi, about seven kilometers from Ngatshang.
Lower secondary schools had one or two computers but it was not accessible to students. Damthang lower secondary school in Haa had only one computer. It is not accessible to students and is used by teachers to prepare examination question papers and for other academic purposes, said Kinley Lhamo, a teacher.
One of the instructors of the training programme, Suk Bahadur Tamang, told Kuensel that the majority of the teacher participants had problems controlling the mouse and took about three days to adjust themselves in front of the computer.
The teachers were taught the basics in windows applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Internet connectivity, networking the printer and even how to open their e-mail accounts. Once they had their e-mail address most of the participants were writing to each other in the room, said Sangay Wangmo.
Teachers of the other selected remote schools also attended similar training programmes in Gelephu and Mongar simultaneously.
By Tashi Dorji
tashi_dorji@kuensel.com.bt
More: http://www.kuenselonline.com/article.php?sid=6348
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