Teachers fume as schools told to free computers for health plan

With the Punjab Government setting an ambitious target of issuing three crore Mukhyamantri Sehat Yojana cards across Punjab within three months, government schools in Patiala district have been told to part with their computers to support the data entry work for enrolment of health insurance beneficiaries.

According to official directions, 112 government schools have been instructed to hand over computers to respective village panchayats in the district, where they will be used for preparing beneficiary data under the health scheme.

The move has triggered resentment among computer teachers, who argue that the timing is particularly disruptive as final-term examinations are approaching.

Teacher unions have complained that computers are being taken away just ahead of practical examinations, hampering assessments. “It has not been clarified for how long these computers will be required. How are we supposed to conduct the Class VIII examinations scheduled to begin from February 17,” asked union leaders.

Highlighting the poor infrastructure, Honey Garg, vice-president of the Computer Teacher Union, Punjab, said, “The situation is so deplorable in some schools that only two or three computers in the labs are functional and even those have been taken away. The panchayats have not made it clear who will be responsible if any snag occurs.”

Meanwhile, the District Education Officer (Secondary) said computers have been taken only from those schools where student strength is low and the labs have surplus machines.

The DEO claimed that merely 30 to 50 computers have been requisitioned and that efforts have been made to ensure that teaching and examinations are not affected.