Tura, January 14 : Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, along with Speaker Thomas A. Sangma, distributed M-Tabs (learning tablets) to students in West Garo Hills at a program held at the District Auditorium in Tura.
The M-Tab initiative is part of the Chief Minister’s Student Digital Learning Scheme, designed to promote e-education in the state. The tablets are pre-loaded with comprehensive content for Higher Secondary level examinations across all streams, including study materials, mock question papers, past papers, and solved answers for various competitive exams. They also feature high-quality audio-visual, animation, and 3D graphic content.
CM Sangma emphasized that the tablets are more than just gadgets; they are tools to empower youth and provide access to better learning resources, equipping them for various examinations. He stated that the government cares for and trusts the youth and believes in using technology to make learning more impactful, meaningful, exciting, and enjoyable. He also pointed out that digital learning, with its audio-visual and pictorial content, simplifies the learning process.
The Chief Minister highlighted the government’s priority to develop the IT sector in Meghalaya, including the establishment of IT parks in Shillong and Tura and the laying of optical fiber networks. He expressed hope that all schools will have access to optical fibers within the next two years, noting that the process has already begun. He also mentioned the existing IT park in Shillong, which serves clients in the US and Europe, employing local youth who provide AI solutions related to crop disease prediction, weather forecasting, and plant growth analysis.
Since 2021, approximately 1 lakh tablets have been distributed to Class XI students. In the 2023-24 academic session, 30,480 students benefited from the scheme, according to the Directorate of School Education and Literacy. In West Garo Hills, around 3,000 M-Tabs will be distributed, with over 400 students from 21 higher secondary schools receiving them at today’s event. Nearly 5,700 teachers in higher secondary schools across the state will also receive tablets to facilitate e-learning and assessments. The Vidya Samiksha Kendra, a learning management app developed by the Meghalaya Department of Information and Technology, is also being utilized to monitor student learning outcomes.
