Microsoft inks MoU with WB Govt

NEW DELHI: Microsoft Corporation India Private Ltd has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of West Bengal, for the roll-out of Microsoft's Partners-in-Learning Program in the state.

The program encompasses Microsoft's flagship India education initiative "Project Shiksha- Empowering the future' as well as two other initiatives namely Fresh Start and School Agreement. In the five year MoU period, Microsoft aims to reach out to over one million students and over 12,000 teachers in Government and Government-aided schools (From Class V to Class XII) across the state Government of West Bengal Principal Secretary - School Education, Debaditya Chakrabarti and Microsoft Corporation India Pvt Ltd MD Rajiv Kaul signed the MoU.

According to the press release, the MoU entails the setting up and running of a Microsoft IT Academy Center in Kolkata for delivering comprehensive teacher training. This will be world class facility equipped with a state-of-the-art IT lab encompassing hardware, software, curriculum and staff for education delivery and administration. The MoU also entails the formulation and implementation of a comprehensive teacher training program, creation of a localized IT curriculum for students, rolling-out of teacher and student scholarship programs and setting up of a teachers portal.

Commenting on the MoU, Chakrabarti said, "We believe that IT has unlimited potential in adding value to the education process, both in terms of course delivery as well as content. This belief underlines our MoU with Microsoft today, wherein we are committed to provide IT education for students and skills training to teachers across the state of West Bengal."