A $35 tablet would be made for school students

Communications and Information Technology minister Kapil Sibal on Wednesday said that the anticipated $35 (approx Rs.1,700) tablet would be made available to school students in the country by next month.

Speaking at an award ceremony held by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Sibal said the tablet would be launched by October in a bid to let children go beyond the boundary of classroom and teachers to acquire knowledge through IT.

"Soon, a 35 dollar computer will be made available to every child in school. The tablet shall help enhance the quality of learning of children," said Sibal.

Taking serious note of the quality of teachers in the education system, Sibal said one of the big initiatives in the 12th Five Year Plan would be to introduce national teacher education mission.

"It is only then that we would be able to get quality teaching and learning," he said.

"A bill for 'public service electronic delivery' is also in the pipeline which within the next five years shall enable the online delivery of all your bills," Sibal added.