Kolkata: In an effort to provide online education to all, West Bengal government decided to transfer Rs 10,000 to each of the 9.5 lakh students of government, government-aided and madrasa schools. This grant is for students to procure tabs or smartphones to enjoy seamless education.
It was decided at the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The state government had earlier announced that it will provide tabs to the students considering the hurdles faced by Class XII students to attend online classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We floated tenders but no one could ensure to supply the huge volume of tabs. Since the central government has imposed restrictions on the products made in China, we have to depend on other brands. So, we have decided to transfer the money directly to the account of the students within three weeks,” the West Bengal CM said.
According to sources in the state secretariat, the school education department held dialogues with the other tab manufacturers but none was able to supply so many tabs.
“All of them said they could supply us a maximum of 15,000 to 20,000 tabs per week. But it would be a time-consuming practice. So the government decided to transfer the money directly to the account of the students,” an official of the school education department said.
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