Bhubaneswar, Sept. 13: To train meritorious students in basic computer skills, the state government has decided to offer free certification programme to those who have been given free laptops.

Nearly 100 meritorious Plus Two students of the 2015 batch from Khurda were distributed free laptops by chief minister Naveen Patnaik at the BJB Autonomous College on September 10.

The training in computer education would be conducted by global IT giant Microsoft. The students would be trained in basic computer skills using Microsoft Office package that includes word, excel and power point.

"This certification programme will help students in academics and for job requirements," said a senior official in the higher education department.

The training will be provided following an online exam conducted by Microsoft.

Laptops will also be distributed to 15,000 students in different colleges across the state. The gadget will be given to those who have cleared the board examinations in the first division this year, officials in the department said.

Since 2013, the state government has been distributing laptops to the qualifying students under the Biju Youth Empowerment Scheme.

The scheme aims to distribute laptops to meritorious Plus Two students, including 3,500 for arts, 5,000 for science, 1,500 for commerce and 100 for vocational education students in the general category.

In the reserved category, the scheme provides for 2,500 laptops for arts, 2,000 for science, 500 for commerce and 100 for vocational education students in the reserved category.