State goes back on move to provide laptops to students

Saturday, 21/03/2015

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CHANDIGARH: The SAD-BJP government in Punjab has gone back on its poll promise of providing laptops to students of Classes 11 and 12, saying they might corrupt the young minds.

The government on Friday faced heat from the Congress MLAs in Punjab assembly after it informed the House that it had provided no laptops to these students.

As Congress MLA Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi who had posed the question was absent, Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal allowed Congress MLA Tarlochan Singh Soondh to raise it during the question hour. Soondh asked education minister Daljit Singh Cheema as to how many students of these two classes had been provided laptops with data cards so far.

There was a huge uproar from the opposition benches when Cheema said that the government would rather like to strengthen 6,736 government school computer laboratories for the benefit of students rather than provide them laptops.

“You may say the government has gone back on its poll promise but there are reasons behind this. The government had constituted a committee under the chief secretary in 2012, which further set up a sub-committee to study the technical aspects of providing laptops to students. The finance minister had even earmarked Rs 110 crore for the move. The committee studied the Uttar Pradesh model where the government had taken a similar decision. We found that the use of laptops could have both good as well as bad effect on the young minds,” Cheema said.

Reacting to this, Congress Legislature Party leader Sunil Jakhar said he appreciated Cheema for being bold enough to admit that the government had done a U-turn on the issue. “First, you diluted your promise by telling the students that you would provide them tablets and now you have completely ruled that out too,” Jakhar said.

Jakhar said it was a regressive step by the government to deny laptops to students by saying that the use of these could corrupt the young minds.

“The government is completely undermining the wisdom of students. If this is the case, the Speaker should ask all MLAs to return their laptops. I will be the first one to return it,” Jakhar said while citing an instance in which two Karnataka legislators were found misusing the laptops in the assembly.

The SAD manifesto in 2012 promised to give laptops to the students of these two classes. Chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, on January 24, 2012, had issued a statement that the decision to provide the laptops would be taken in the very first cabinet meeting.

SAD president and deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had said that it might take two to three years but the SAD would keep all its promises. The SAD had also promised to make the entire state a WiFi zone.