Students to get free e-libraries

Pupils of civic-run schools will have access to over 3,000 books

Books of various genres like animation, English grammar, textbooks, subject-related, vocabulary building, autobiographies of known personalities & audio-visual will be made available

In yet another effort to boost the education system in BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) schools, the education department has proposed to start e-libraries in 25 civic-run schools. Over 3,000 books of various genres will be made available for both students and teachers, at no cost, in PDF format in these digital libraries.

Students of BMC schools have been waiting for the implementation of this project since few years. Now, finally the civic body has allotted Rs 1.58 lakhs for each e-library. Every school will have master computer with access to these books.

Books of various genres like animation, English grammar, textbooks, subject-related, vocabulary building, autobiographies of known personalities and audio-visual will be made available for students of Class 5 to 8. The books will be available in English and Marathi languages.

Authorities of the civic education department claimed they want students to inculcate the habit of reading.

A senior civic officer said, “Our students do not have the habit of reading books on a daily basis and we want to inculcate it allowing them access to these books. This will motivate them develop a reading habit. These books are of different genres and will also help to increase their knowledge to learn new things.”

Teachers will be provided with technical training to access the e-library. Also, additional chairs, tables and an internet connection will be provided to both teachers and students. Vikrant Deshpande, a teacher, said, “It is an interesting project, especially since people nowadays prefer to read e-books. It will also help us teachers, as we too can use this library whenever we have some free time after school hours.”