19 November 2004	Friday	06 Shawwal 1425

MIRPUR, Nov 18: An integrated Rs1.84 billion plan has been prepared by the federal government to set up 1,098 latest computer laboratories in schools and colleges across the country including Azad Jammu Kashmir, official sources told APP.

They said here on Thursday that the gigantic project was aimed at promoting a computer literacy programme coupled with the studies in information technology in the educational institutions from the primary stage to college level.

"The process about inviting bids from the parties concerned for purchasing the equipments has started, which will be completed by the end of this year so that the computer laboratories could start functioning from next educational session," the sources said.

The project, they said, would be launched under a matching programme as 50 per cent of the funds would be provided by the federal ministry of information technology whereas the remaining funds would be provided by the provincial governments concerned and the government of Azad Jammu Kashmir.

Meanwhile, computer studies have been declared compulsory in all the educational institutions from grassroots to the university level in Azad Jammu Kashmir to help produce the quality future architects of the nation.

According to the official sources, the subject of information technology has been declared compulsory as permanent syllabus in all the educational institutions of the state. The government has also started imparting IT training to the teaching staff of all the educational by inducting coordinators in all the seven districts of Azad Jammu Kashmir, to materialize the plan accordingly.

Getting IT studies in all the state-run educational institutions, including schools and colleges functioning in Azad Jammu Kashmir, would be imperative for the students to learn computer with immediate effect, the sources said.

A comprehensive and broad-based plan, they said, had also been chalked out for the promotion of the studies in information technology. The plan also involved various effective steps to raise the rate of literacy from primary to the university level across the liberated territory. The plan will be implemented in phases.