To help needy pupils, Himachal Pradesh launches phone donation campaign

Tribune News Service

Shimla, July 15

With online learning the new normal now, Education Minister Govind Singh Thakur today launched a phone donation campaign, ‘Digital Saathi — Baccho ka Sahara, Phone Humara” to help needy children who cannot afford smartphones.

The procedure

* To contribute to a child’s online learning, one can visit the ‘Digital Saathi’ portal at www.hpdigitalsaathi.in or call on 1800-180-8190

* The districts with the highest number of donations will receive ‘’Digital Saathi Award’ for contribution to online learning

“I urge the public to come forward and donate for the cause. I will also donate 100 smartphones to help needy students. It is the country’s first state-led initiative for students,” said the minister.

As per information, at least 10 per cent students of government schools do not have smartphones to attend online classes.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur also encouraged people to come forward and donate smartphones. Bollywood actor Yami Gautam, who is the face of the ‘Digital Saathi’ campaign, also joined the event virtually.

The state government has been running the ‘Har Ghar Pathshala’ programme to ensure online learning of students since April 2020, and has reached almost 80 per cent of students through great efforts. However, students from Chamba, Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur are still facing difficulty in accessing online content as part of the programme.

Project director, Samagra Shiksha, Virender Sharma said,”We will ensure that no student is bereft of online studies in the state.”