Mangaluru: Minister for higher education Basavaraj Rayareddy said here on Saturday that the government will distribute free laptops to 1.5 lakh students from general categories across the state before March this year.

While the distribution of laptops to SC, ST students across the state will be completed within a week, the government has plans to distribute it to students belong to general category too, Rayareddy said.

He was speaking after inaugurating a programme to distribute laptops to SC/ ST students here on Saturday.

Rayareddy said laptops will be distributed to 31,800 SC/ST students studying in 412 government first grade colleges, 85 polytechnics and 14 government engineering colleges in the state. Meanwhile, 1.5 lakh students from general categories too will be given laptops. In Dakshina Kannada district, around 7,900 students from general categories will get free laptops, he added.

“Our aim is to ensure equality. Chief minister Siddaramaiah has earmarked Rs 227 crore for the purpose,” the minister said.

“Books available in libraries are not sufficient for students pursuing higher education. Students have lot to learn through browsing of information websites. We need to make more and more youngsters to pursue higher education. In India, currently, only 24% of the population acquires degree and this percentage in the state is 27.3. We have a target of increasing the percentage to 40 in the next five years,” the minister said.

The government will set up 175 residential colleges across the state in a phased manner, he added.

While there are 650 beneficiaries listed for laptops in the district, the minister distributed laptops to 21 students during the programme.

Minister for forest, environment and ecology B Ramanath Rai said the district is facing communal tension only because of lack of knowledge. “Lack of knowledge among people leads to communal frictions. Student community should be very responsible since the future of the nation depends on them,” Rai said. Mangaluru City South MLA J R Lobo presided.