Microsoft chief Bill Gates on Friday inaugurated the first phase of an IT education program to train teachers in rural Tamil Nadu in south India through videoconferencing, Indo-Asian News Service reported.

Gates also met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha and her cabinet members, during which he was presented a strong case for investment in the state's IT industry.

Before the meeting, Gates was closeted for two hours with senior Microsoft officials.

"I am impressed by what I have seen today," Gates said after the meeting.

In August, Microsoft Corp. India and the Tamil Nadu School Education Department signed an agreement to train teachers by establishing and running an information technology academy for a five-year period.

The state government will provide the building and Microsoft will set up a facility comprising an IT lab complete with hardware and software, and provide the curriculum and staff for education delivery and administration.

Under the "Partners in Learning Program," groups of 40 teachers will receive 12 days of residential training over the next five years.

Apart from this, Microsoft will train teachers in batches of 20 in five district institutes of education training across the state.

This is expected to benefit around 20,000 teachers and indirectly reach over one million students.

Source: Xinhua