Punjab Smart Connect Scheme: Over 14,148 Class 12 students in Ludhiana yet to receive smartphones

As many as 14,148 Class 12 students studying in government schools in the district are yet to receive smartphones under the Punjab Smart Connect Scheme announced by the chief minister on August 12.

Captain Amarinder Singh had launched a statewide Rs 92 crore Punjab Smart Connect Scheme that aimed at providing more than 1.73 lakh smartphones to Class 12 students by November.

The scheme was launched to bridge the digital gap so that all students could attend online classes amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Reasoning the delay, deputy state project director, Manoj Kumar, said, “I can’t share the schedule right now, but smartphones will be provided to the students very soon. Over 50,000 phones have already been distributed to students in the first batch and the remaining will be provided very soon.”

The district received 2,529 mobile phones which had been distributed to students of 23 government senior secondary schools. There are a total of 188 government senior secondary schools in the district and the authorities received 100 phones in August which were given to 10 students of selected schools. Another 13 government schools received the smartphones in September which were handed over to the students.

School heads have stated that students who do not have smartphones are facing difficulty in attending online classes. Requesting anonymity, a principal said, “We have a strength of 60 students in Class 12 and they are yet to receive the smartphones. As they are unable to attend online classes, they have to ask their classmates and friends about the topics covered in classes.”

Government school teachers conducting online classes have said that over 20% of students are not attending classes regularly and facing difficulty as they do not have smartphones. Insufficient data package is another hurdle for them.

Harpreet Kaur, a Class 12 student said, “I do not have a personal mobile phone. Due to the pandemic, my parents are not allowing me to attend school and teachers have already covered the syllabus and now tests are being conducted on a weekly basis. Due to the lack of a smartphone, I’m facing a problem to keep up with the syllabus.”