With calls for the tablets’ withdrawal growing throughout Haryana last year, the ₹620-crore flagship e-Adhigam scheme, which gave e-tablets to nearly five lakh students in Classes 10 and 12 of the state’s government schools in 2022, was called into question.
According to information obtained, the Haryana education department upgraded 65% of the e-tablets given to pupils in classes 10 and 12 at government-run schools to the newest operating system (OS) in response to alarming complaints that kids were breaking the tablets’ security codes and visiting inappropriate websites.
The ₹620-crore flagship e-Adhigam scheme, under which e-tablets were distributed among nearly five lakh students of Classes 10 and 12 of Haryana’s government schools in 2022, had come under suspicion last year as the outcry for removal of the tablets swelled across the state.
3,300 schools and almost 30,000 teachers had also been given similar gadgets.
Parents and local panchayats pushed the government to remove the tablets after it was discovered that many kids were not utilizing them for academic purposes. They said the devices were hindering rather than assisting students’ academics.
Instructors had also notified the state education directorate about certain students evading the mobile device management (MDM) security function. When the Class 12 pupils returned the tablets after passing out, the professors discovered the bug.
“We have addressed the concerns regarding e-tablets and the device’s firewall breach by implementing the appropriate measures,” stated Sudhir Rajpal, the department’s assistant chief secretary for school education.
Officials from the education department’s information technology (IT) section claim that these tablets came pre-installed with PAL software (personalized and adaptive learning), educational materials, and internet connectivity via SIM cards.
Upon bringing up the sensitive issue with the seven vendors, they began blaming each other for the security lapse. According to reports, the department lacked precise information about the quantity of kids who had gotten past the MDM security barriers.
A senior official, who wished to remain anonymous, stated, “It has been established that MDM was breached via USB by using a software.” The official went on to say that following a series of meetings with the suppliers, it was determined that the tablets’ operating systems should be upgraded and tested on a limited batch of devices first.
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