Microsoft rolls out IT literacy project in Andhra
Thursday, 15 January 2004, 20:30 IST
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HYDERABAD: Microsoft India Wednesday signed an agreement with the Andhra Pradesh government for a project to make 400,000 students and 200,000 teachers in the state IT-literate in the next five years. After introducing the 'Shiksha', or education, project in Uttaranchal, the computer major has extended it to Andhra Pradesh. The project will focus on government schools. I.V. Subba Rao, Karnataka's principal secretary for school education, and Rajiv Kaul, managing director of Microsoft, signed a memorandum of understanding on the project in the presence of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. Microsoft will set up and run an IT academy to facilitate teachers' training. "This will be a world class facility equipped with a state-of-the-art IT laboratory encompassing hardware, software, curriculum and staff for effective delivery of educational facilities and administration," said a Microsoft release. The agreement entails formulation and implementation of a comprehensive teacher training programme, creation of a localised IT curriculum and rolling out a teachers' portal. Naidu hoped the project would help empower youths, particularly the student community living in rural, tribal and backward areas of the state. "We have a long-term vision for IT education and a comprehensive India education programme wherein we are working closely with the academia and universities, as well as education departments of state and central governments to ensure IT adoption in the education process at various levels," Kaul said. "We believe that early access to technology for students can contribute significantly towards creating an IT proficient next generation," he said.
Source: IANS
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