The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : It has opened a new world before them

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 31, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

It has opened a new world before them

Staff Correspondent

‘This is the first time that I am seeing a computer’

EXCITING: Students from rural areas at the Internet session at BVB College of Engineering and Technology in Hubli on Tuesday.

HUBLI: “This is the first time that I am seeing a computer,” said an excited Mamata S. Iyengar from the Government Girls High School of Kalghatgi in Dharwad taluk, trying to operate the mouse at the computer laboratory of BVB College of Engineering and Technology in Hubli on Tuesday.

Studying in the eighth class, Mamata had only heard about computers but never had the opportunity to operate one herself. Sitting next to her was her classmate Shanta G. Hiremath, who too belonged to the same category. Operating a computer for the first time, their enthusiasm was palpable.

The thought that they had the opportunity to use the computer for one full hour itself made them excited. So were their over 70 schoolmates.

Having attended an introductory session on Internet and its advantages and some initial tips on how to browse by tutors, they just went on clicking the mouse and choosing their field of interest using the available search engine on the web.

The Students Internet World, being organised jointly by the Department of Information Technology, Bio Technology and Science and Technology, the district administration, the District Informatics Centre, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and other organisations, has opened up a different world before them.

Sitting before the desktop computers, they browsed various websites starting from Kannada newspapers, historical places, monuments, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former President, to educational sites and so on.

Srihari Jadhav of Sakhre School, Hubli, was trying to locate Hubli on the Indian map and Shilpa Byahatti was reading details on Qutub Minar.

On another computer, Ganesh Ramanagoudar and Abdul Kadhar Rajikannavar of SJR Junior College, Noolvi, were searching for details on the Mughal king Akbar.

Similarly, others were browsing websites of their interest.

They were not the only students who got their first lessons in use of Internet.

Just as the time allotted to them ended, another batch of enthusiastic students arrived to have a feel of the Internet.

The four-day event would see the participation of 4,200 students from 55 high schools in the rural areas of the district, said Meenakumari, District Informatics Officer, NIC, Dharwad.

Good response

Started two years ago with the objective of introducing Internet to rural students, the annual event has been well received.

This year, 40 tutors are involved in the event and 80 computer systems are being provided for the use of students.

While the Department of Public Instruction has been given the task of selecting the rural schools, North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation has taken up the responsibility of picking up and dropping students from their schools in the five taluks of the district.

District Informatics Centre and KEONICS are coordinating the event along with other government departments and agencies.

Dharwad Deputy Commissioner M.S. Srikar formally inaugurated the event on Monday.

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