Educators want to equip migrant schools with the same modern computer and Internet resources as public schools, the Shanghai Education Commission said yesterday.

 

An education information database and network, launched in 2000, connects all elementary schools in Shanghai, and now commission officials hope to put migrant schools online.

 

Once connected, migrant school students and teachers will be able to learn from live online demo classes taught by top teachers in the city, watch online versions of documentaries and read e-books via the Internet.

 

"As migrant students enjoy exactly the same rights as their local peers, they should also be entitled to modern facilities and benefit from the newest technology," said Wang Min, director of the commission's elementary education resources center.

 

Wang said that the project would start with installing broadband Internet access to migrant schools.

 

Commission officials didn't disclose how many migrant schools in the city would benefit from the plan. But the project is expected to be completed by the end of June.

 

The city is also scheduled to hold the 7th Shanghai Elementary School Computer Design Conference from April 13 to 15.

 

More than 1,600 primary and middle schools in the city, together with hundreds of schools from other parts of the country, are invited to showcase Internet education facilities and robot design works during the three-day conference.

 

(Shanghai Daily February 6, 2007)