Power failure nips Computer Education
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, April 16 2012: Power failure which has become something chronic in the State has reduced the Right to Education Act to a meaningless legislation as computer education cannot be given in Government schools, even in the so-called model schools in spite of the universal acceptance that the contemporary period is the cyber age.

Wangkhei High School is one of the nine model schools spread across different districts of the State.

After the school was upgraded as a model school, Education Department provided the school with 40 laptops in 2010 .

However, students are taught only the theories of computer and its application as there was no power supply during the school hours.

Even as the laptops were charged for short hours in the night or early morning when there was power supply, the charged battery (of the laptops) could not last longer than five minutes.

As such, doing practical class for computer science was out of the question, said Mayanglambam Sopnika, a student of the school.

Saying that they felt like illiterate without acquiring sufficient computer knowledge in this cyber age, many students said that they can acquire basic computer knowledge, if not more, if there is power supply for at least two hours during school hours.

Even as the students have been taught many theories of computer science, they could not apply the theories or run computer programmes in practice.

It is not only electricity, potable water too remains quite scare in the school.

Students have been facing many embarrassing inconveniences on account of lack of water for going to toilets, conveyed the students.

Sanglakpam Dhiraj who teaches both Maths and Computer Science in Wangkhei Model High School said that practical classes for Computer Science could not be conducted as there was no power supply.

The existing situation limits Computer Science to only theory classes.

Moreover, as there was no provision for purchasing anti-virus software, the laptops were frequently attacked by different viruses.

"Without practical classes, teachers are unable to impart any practical knowledge about computer and its applications", Dhiraj said.

There was one power generator but it was used only for printing examination question papers when there was no other option.

In addition to the 40 laptops, the school has ten desktop computers but these computers have not been used since many years back.

It is not known whether these computers are still operational or not.

Even if one likes to check them, there is no possibility in the absence of power supply.

The desktops were purchased at the rate of Rs 40,000 per set while the laptops cost Rs 13,000 per piece.

Out of the nine model schools spread across the nine districts of Manipur, it is only Wangkhei Model High School and Keishamthong Model High School which have been provided with laptops.

Like at Wangkhei Model High School, students of Keishamthong Model High School have not been taught any practical class about Computer Science because of power failure.

Notably, Wangkhei Model High School has 212 students�� 45 in Class VI, 45 in Class VII, 40 in Class VIII, 50 in Class IX and 32 in Class X.The school has 23 teachers including the Headmistress.

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