Give free laptops to us too, Class 11 students urge TN govt

CHENNAI: The revival of the free laptop scheme for college students has left students in Class 11 disappointed, as they urge the State government to not neglect them.

Earlier, the scheme distributed free laptops for Class 11 students in government school. And, those who could not get laptops in the last 4 years, were upset since the State government did not mention anything about clearing the backlogs.

Launched in 2011 as a pet project by the late former CM J Jayalalithaa, over 51 lakh laptops worth Rs 7,257.61 crore were distributed free of cost between 2011-2012 and 2019-2020 (till February). After February 2020, the distribution was stalled due to the worldwide pandemic.

When the DMK government came to power, the scheme came to a grinding halt, leaving over 20 lakh government school and college students high and dry. However, during the 2025-26 budget, the State government allocated Rs 2,000 crore to distribute free laptops for 20 lakh college students in two years.

“It’s disappointing that the scheme was not extended to school students since laptops are useful for not only preparing for board exams but also gaining knowledge of several e-learning methods,” said R Dhandapani, Tamil Aasiriar Sangam (TN Tamil Teachers Association).

Kalaiselvi (name changed), a Class 11 student of a government school in the city, said: “From Class 9 onwards, I’ve been expecting the relaunch of the free laptop scheme so that I could receive the laptop when I reach Class 11. Earlier, I used to see my seniors, who received the laptops, busy learning many things. Now, I don’t have that option.”

PB Prince Gajendra Babu, general secretary, State Platform for Common School System – Tamil Nadu (SPCSS-TN) opined that since the government had begun the scheme to provide free laptops to college students, it could consider extending it to school students. “The government has changed the scheme to increase admissions in the government higher educational institutions,” he pointed out.

It’s likely that the Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ELCOT) may implement the project, as it did in the previous regime. A retired official from ELCOT, stated that the State Finance Department should first release the funds based on the number of beneficiaries.

“After that, authorities along with IT experts will have to agree on the configuration of the laptops. After this, an international tender will be floated. When it’s successful, the order will be placed,” he explained. “Once the orders are delivered, the laptops will be thoroughly checked before it’s distributed to the districts. After they’re distributed to students, the State government will set up service centres in each district to fulfil the warranty of the system. All these processes will take at least six months.”