Fulfilling the major promise of Punjab Government to empower young students digitally amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, the Deputy Commissioner Ferozepur Gurpal Singh Chahal on Wednesday unveiled the first phase of ‘Punjab Smart Connect Scheme’ and distributed smart phones to 20 students of government schools on the auspicious occasion of Janmashtami and International Youth Day. The scheme was launched in the state simultaniously through video conferencing in the presence of Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, who not just personally congratulated the whole students but also shared his future vision for the students.The Deputy Commissioner Gurpal Singh Chahal accompained by senior congress leader Anumeet Singh Sodhi, Jasmail Singh Laddi gehri, DCC President Gurcharan Singh Nahar, Harinder Singh Khosa, SDM Amit Gupta and others said that this is a historic step taken by the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh led State Government to equip all those students of schools especially Government Schools, who were facing difficulties in accessing the online study material or other Educational content in these trying situations of Covid-19 pandemic. He said that the pandemic has halted routine classes in the schools, which led to an adverse effect on the poor and rural students especially of government schools, who were facing several problems in getting equal opportunities like others in private educational institutions. The Deputy Commissioner said that this move would not only ensure the students remain connected with education but will also empower them Digitally.
The smart phones have been given to 20 students including 15 girls and five boys namely Ritika, Reema, Diksha, Navjot, Parkash, Satnam Kaur, Sonia Rani, Nandani, Reema Rani, Pooja Rani, Harmandeep Kaur, Harmanpreet Kaur, Muskan Chabra, Mansi Sethi, Sumanpreet Kaur, Parkash Singh, Navjot Singh, Mohit Kumar, Karan and Gagan Singh. The students for launching ceremony were selected from government girls senior secondary smart school Ferozepur, government girls senior secondary school Mamdot, government girls senior secondary school Zira and government senior secondary school GuruharSahai.Giving more details, the Deputy Commissioner said that a total of 5196 students including 2517 boys and 2679 girls across the all 64 government schools of the district would be benefited under this scheme. He further added that in a phased wised manner, the smart phones would be delivered to all these students as the state government has decided that in the first phase, smart phones would be given to all boys and girls studying of Class XII in government schools i.e. nearly 1.74 Lakh with an outlay of Rs. 92 Crore approximately.Pointing out that, in this era of social media, the Deputy Commissioner said that these youth will excel in digital literacy and have access to digital payments, insurance, online banking ect, besides staying connected with their families and friends through social media.Sharing their experiences and expectations, some of the students told that the smartphone was going to change the entire spectrum of their studies as it would not only enable them to attend online classes but also explore various career opportunities besides helping them to apply for various jobs and courses. The students while unboxing their smartphones expressed their happiness and said that they would never forget this very moment in their life.