All schools will be linked to ‘digital boards’: Union minister

New Delhi: The Union government has decided to connect all schools in India with "digital boards" and has been pushing the scheme at 25 Kendriya Vidyalayas under a pilot project, Union minister Upendra Kushwaha has said. 

"Tablets have been provided to the 25 schools where the project has been launched under Operation Digital Blackboard," the minister of state for human resource development told PTI-Bhasha. During the initial phase, schools will be equipped with "smart boards" and the Central Advisory Board of Education has given its approval for it during a recent meeting, he said. 

The campaign will replicate the blackboard campaign ran by the government across the country 60 years ago.  The scheme is expensive now, but the central and the state governments will partner municipal bodies and also seek corporate social responsibility (CSR) and public participation to generate funds for it, Kushwaha said. He said students will be taught on "digital boards" once classrooms are equipped with them, and they can also directly connect themselves with Internet, television and books.

He said there are about 14 lakh untrained teachers in India. According to National Council For Teacher Education rules, there cannot be untrained teachers in private schools or government schools.  He said the government has decided to train all untrained teachers by March 31, 2019, by amending the Right to Education Act, as after that the services of untrained teachers will be suspended.