Arunachal: Laptops provided to CBSE toppers faulty and defective, reveals technical expert committee

The Tirap district administration in Arunachal Pradesh formed a nine-member technical expert committee to investigate suspected defective laptops provided to CBSE exam toppers.

During a function on June 20, the education department in the district gave free laptops to 18 deserving children who fared well in CBSE Class X and XII exams this year. 

The laptops were distributed as part of the Directorate of Secondary Education's (DSE) District Academic Toppers Award 2021-22. However, eight students returned their computers, claiming that they were outdated and could not be used owing to technical issues. 

They also claimed that the computers had serious wear and tear, scrapes, and obscene movies saved on them with the identities of prior users. Tirap Deputy Commissioner Hento Karga formed an expert group led by a circle officer to investigate the incident. 

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“The state government has decided to replace the laptops with new ones. To avoid any kind of further embarrassment, the district administration has decided to thoroughly check the new machines before handing them to the students,” Karga said. 

Meanwhile, the education administration has chosen to ban the company that supplied the computers. 

According to a department spokesman, the supplier was chosen through a competitive bidding procedure. 

The All Tirap Students' Union (ATSU) urged a comprehensive probe of all personnel engaged in the district academic toppers award 2021-22 in a memorandum to the DDSE on July 3.