Term ends, BMC schools yet to receive tabs

Mumbai: Despite its stated objective of inclusion of technology in the academics of the civic schools, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) education department could not provide tabs to the class 9 students in the academic year 2017-18 that is nearing its end.  The reason being the change in the syllabus of these students by Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research, popularly called Balbharati, for which the tabs were taken back to be updated, said sources. While these students are almost in the end of their academic year, the tendering process and installation of new revised syllabus of 18,078 tabs is still in ‘process’.

The class 9 were provided tabs in the beginning of the academic year. However, soon after realising that the lessons in the tabs are different from the textbooks one because of syllabus change, the tabs were taken back for updating it. The Central Purchasing Department  (CPD) of the BMC education department is charged to look into these changes for the students. An official from CPD told this newspaper that the tendering process for this upgradation needs contractors. “We need contractors and for which we have published advertisement. However, it is taking some time and it is in process but we are sure it will be soon completed,” said the official.

According to the BMC Budget for the education sector, for the next academic year (2018-19), the memory cards will be replaced from the previously provided tabs to class 8 to 10 students, with their respective syllabus installed in it. A budgetary provision of Rs 12 crore has been allocated for the secondary students of the total 149 schools of the BMC consisting of more than 30,000 students.