Gym, dance studio, music rooms at Mumbai schools

Mumbai, Oct 4: Schools in Mumbai are gong hip for Generation Y, as in 21st generation kids... Gymnasium, dance studios, music rooms, wi-fi connections, laptops and the list goes on...

Changes are most apparent not just in urban areas but even in Tier-II towns. Posh schools like Ecole Mondiale in Mumbai offer an array of facilities such as gymnasuim, music room, libraries, drama and dance studios with smart cards to access these areas. Other schools provide laptops, Wi-Fi connections to enable them to be on a par with the best in the world. While, schools in Shillong and Aizawl in the Northeast, too, are now providing state-of-the-art computer rooms for students and are offering multiple courses. Institutions there have also initiated regular student exchange programmes with schools abroad.

This upgradation rush stems from the fact that these insitutions need to be more competitive in a highly technology-based world. For a vast majority of children and youth today, terms like MP3, Wi-Fi, broadband, MMS and SMS are an integral part of their psyche and vocabulary.

Modern tech systems like Students Attendance Management System (SAMS) and other facilities like air-conditioned classrooms and multi-cuisine canteens are also set up to attract the fast-growing moneyed class and meet their demand for better services.

Also, in the fray are around 12 lakh recognised institutions and over 6,000 Premium Grade Universities and Colleges around the country.

Tapping into this demand are firms like Mumbai-based Micro Technologies that provide the required software and systems for setting up these facilities.

The company recently launched SAMS, designed to facilitate access, attendance and effective communication between students and faculty members. An administrator of an institution can track and record the attendance of students and lecturer from various locations across the global from a single point.

''It's not just the start-ups which are adopting IT. Even the well established institutions seem to be very keen on embracing technology to efficiently manage their vast infrastructure, communication and other administrative-related issues,'' say sources from the company.

UNI