Sanjib Kumar Roy
Port Blair, July 04: An inauguration plaque placed outside the computer lab of GDMS (Primary) at Middle Point reads “IT Centre Inaugurated by Lt. Governor, Lt Gen (Retd.) Bhopinder Singh, on 5th September 2007.” But inside the IT Centre, things are different. Out of 25 computers, which were procured for the IT Centre, presently hardly five computers are working, almost all computer chairs are broken and computer tables are in pathetic shape. Most of the systems are covered under thick layer of dust, which shows that for years those systems have not even been touched by anyone.
According to reports once all of these computers used to function wonderfully well and all these PCs were connected with Broadband and LAN. For nearly three years the Lab was used for various purposes by students but slowly things changed.
In 2010 the school was snatched away from TGCE and the Education Department took over the school, since then the computers were never repaired and the broadband lines got disconnected as bills were not paid.
When Andaman Sheekha team asked the teachers of the school to switch on atleast one PC, the teachers could do so after struggling for nearly 40 minutes.
“We use these PCs to teach only basics to the students like paint brush and word,” said a teacher. How disheartening it is to see that well equipped and ambitious IT Centre has become ‘time-pass’ centre for primary school students, where they play paint brush.
Not only this, out of 25 PCs only 20 monitors could be found inside the Lab, out of which a few doesn’t have CPU or UPS.
“Two systems have been taken away by the Boys’ School authority when their system crashed and were never returned,” said another staff.
This is just an example how public money is wasted by the Education Department. It seems that procurement is the main mantra, after which no one bothers about maintaining equipments, which cost a fortune.
Call it a conspiracy to spoil the Lt. Governor’s name or a matter of gross negligence, there has been reports that in many other schools computers purchased, worth several lakhs are dumped in some rooms for years.
Why there is no inquiry against such gross wastage of public money? Is there anyone answerable in Education Department regarding such misuse of tax-payers’ money? Will the new Director issue an explanation to public in this regard?
