Goa Kids will get free laptops to work in internet wired school classrooms

PANAJI: Kids in Goa could soon be going to school with laptops in hand with education minister Atanasio Monserrate announcing that PCs given under the cyberage scheme were being phased out from the next session. 

"All schools will be provided internet connectivity so that the student community can stay wired up," the minister said, adding that Goa will be the first state in the country to provide such a facility. 

About 12,000 students will benefit from the scheme. Monserrate has proposed to distribute laptops with the budget allocated earlier for personal computers. He is moving the finance department for a waiver of taxes on laptops procured for this ‘educational purpose". 

Education department sources said the government pays about Rs 23,000 for a computer-printer set given under the cyberage scheme. With a tax rebate, laptops can be procured for the same amount, the sources said.