Hundreds of students in middle, high and senior secondary schools have appeared in the practical exams of computer science, which ended yesterday, without adequate computers.Reason: Most schools have malfunctioning or non-operational computers. Most of the computer labs in nearly 6,000 middle, high and senior secondary schools have not been upgraded since 2005, resulting in crumbling infrastructure and hindering the digital learning experience.Ironically, the limited functional 120 computers with schools in Patiala district have been taken away by village panchayats for use in the enrolment of beneficiaries of Mukhyamantri Sehat Yojana.Honey Garg, vice-president of the Computer Teachers Union, Punjab, said, “The situation is so deplorable in some schools that only two or three computers in the labs are functional. Even those have been taken away. The panchayats have not clarified who will be responsible in case of any damage or technical snag.”Aware of the situation, a senior Education Department functionary said the delivery of nearly 40,000 14th-generation computers would begin on February 28 and the entire lot would be delivered in 20 days. Nearly Rs 400 crore — under the Samaghra Shiksha programme — was being used to procure computers.Education Minister Harjot Bains said apart from computers, latest LCD interactive screens were also being procured. He said computer labs with the latest systems would become functional from the next academic session. The curriculum of computer education was also being revised.“Since 2021, the tendering process to procure computers had been lingering on due to one or the other administrative reason. The funds were there, but new computers could not be procured,” said a senior government functionary.Launched in 2005, the Punjab Information and Communication Technology Education Society (PICTES) initiative led to the recruitment of over 7,000 computer teachers to promote digital literacy. Currently, 6,200 teachers are employed in 2,670 middle, 1,740 high and 1,972 senior secondary schools in Punjab.
