The Coimbatore Corporation will give tablet computing devices for students and teachers of Corporation Special School for the Hearing-impaired in R.S. Puram. A release from the civic body said that the Mayor made the announcement to this effect at a meeting held at the Corporation on Tuesday. The initiative, which the Corporation was implementing as part of the Digital Equaliser Programme (DEP) in association with the American Indian Foundation, would benefit 42 students and five teachers of the school.

As part of the initiative, the Corporation would also invest in hardware and software to equip five schools — one each in the five zones — to make fully connected schools. This would be based on the Maniakarampalayam School, where Dell had invested in hardware and software to help students gain access to the latest learning methodologies.

Once the infrastructure was complete, members of the American Indian Foundation would train the teachers and then students in using the computers to better the teaching-learning process.

The release said that the Mayor through video conference interacted with the students and teachers of the Corporation schools, where the Foundation had implemented the digital equaliser programme. Hariharan, a teacher at the Corporation school in R.S. Puram, presented the slide show he had created on a topic. Jasmin, a teacher at the Corporation Higher Secondary School, Rathinapuri, also showcased the project she had created using the techniques at the Digital Equaliser Programme.

A couple of students also got to showcase to the Mayor what they had learnt.

At the programme the Mayor also a released a compact disc containing education materials that would benefit Class X students, who would appear for their public examination in a few weeks from now. J. Sundarakrishnan, Director, Digital Equaliser Programme, American Indian Foundation, spoke on what the organisation had in store for the Corporation school students in the coming months. Commissioner in-charge S. Sivarasu, councillors and officials were present at the function.