JORHAT: Even though the state has taken initiatives to provide smartphones to about eight lakh Class IX and X students of government schools across the state, All Assam Students Union (Aasu)’s Jorhat district unit has distributed smartphones among the needy students in Class VII to XII on Saturday.
Assam finance minister Ajanta Neog, while tabling the state budget for 2021-22 in the assembly on Friday, said the government had taken an innovative step to provide mobile devices to the underprivileged students of Class IX and X to mitigate learning losses. The scheme would benefit about eight lakh students, she said.
A day later, the Aasu Jorhat district unit distributed smartphones to 20 students in the district. All these students have been deprived of taking online classes due to lack of the device since the commencement of the classes in online mode. The economic conditions of the parents of these students are too poor to purchase a smartphone.
Of the total 20 students, five are girls. Eighteen of them are studying in government schools and two are studying in two private schools in Jorhat free of cost. They are the students of Class VII, IX, X, XI and XII in eighteen different schools in Jorhat. “We have distributed 20 smartphones to as many students in Jorhat Sonari Gaon, Macharhat, Koronga, Chinnamara, Parbotia, Rajabari, Sahpuria and Tarajan located on the outskirts of Jorhat town. The academic careers of all these students are good but have not got proper facilities for learning. We have selected these underprivileged students by a field survey through our regional units and have distributed the mobile phones,” said Bijoy Shankar Bordoloi, president of Aasu’s Jorhat unit.
Bordoloi added, “We have started our initiative last month and have collected funds from some businessmen and government employees to fulfil our efforts. Many people have supported us morally and also helped financially to offer a hand to these needy students.”