The Microsoft project is called 'Project Siksha'.
A Tamil Nadu government release said that under the MoU, Microsoft will set up and run an information technology academy in Chennai for a period of five years, while the state government will provide a building in which the facility will be set up. This will to be completed by February 2006.
Each batch of teachers is to receive 12 days' training in computer literacy as well as computer-aided teaching techniques.
The scheme was formally launched when Microsoft chairman, Bill Gates, and his delegation met Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa. The academy in Chennai will be supplemented by centres in Madurai, Tiruchirapalli, Tirunelveli, Salem and Vellore.
The aim of the programme is to train 80,000 teachers over a 5-year period and around 35 lakh students will get the benefits.
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