Three months on, students await promised laptops

ROHTAK: The Haryana government is yet to fulfil its promise of giving free laptops to 500 meritorious students who secured 95% marks or above in Class 10, even as three months have passed since the school board declared results.

The government was to give these laptops under its state merit scholarship scheme.

However, the toppers said they had neither been given the laptops, nor been communicated about any deadline in this regard.

“We’re only hearing rumours through students that they’ll be given laptops by November. But there’s no official communication in this regard,” chairman of BR Gyandeep School in Mahendergarh, Rup Ram, said. His school produced the board topper, Anya Khairwal, and several other meritorious students.

The remaining 100 were to be given to 100 girl students belonging to general caste as per merit.

Asked about the reason behind the delay in this regard, additional chief secretary, school education, PK Das, said the government had made provision for the scheme in the budget and an order was given to Hartron. “The government will distribute the laptops once the Hartron procures them,” he said.

The state government had said it would bear an additional expenditure of `2.5 crore in this facility.

The board had declared the results on May 23, in which over 50% students of Class 10 could not even pass.