KOZHIKODE: When the new academic year dawns, primary schools in the state will also flaunt hi-tech labs on the lines of high schools and higher secondary schools. The Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE) has prepared a Rs 300-crore project for setting up hi-tech labs along with high-speed broadband internet connectivity in nearly 10,000 LP and UP schools.
The initiative is in continuation of the project that successfully transformed 45,000 classrooms from classes VIII to XII into hi-tech classrooms. The hi-tech lab project, which was announced in this year’s state budget, would be funded by Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB). As per the DPR which KITE has submitted to the government, the entire process would be completed within six months.
Once the hi-tech lab project is completed, Kerala would become India’s first ‘digital state in education’ before June 1 next year. The project covers 9,941 government and aided UP as well as LP schools in the state. As part of the project, each primary school would get between two to 20 laptops along with USB speakers, up to 10 multi-media projectors, multi-function printers and 42 inch LED TV. All schools included in the project would be equipped with high-speed broadband internet connectivity.
According to KITE vice chairman and executive director K Anvar Sadath, schools with an average student strength of seven or more in a division have been considered for the project. Exemptions have been given to special schools and tribal schools
The project also includes IT infrastructure upgradation, digital content, capacity building for teachers and students and e-governance. Unlike in high school and higher secondary section where all the classrooms were made hi-tech, ICT equipment is deployed in a movable stage in labs so that they can be taken to classrooms as and when required.
Currently dedicated ICT textbooks- Kalipetti for lower primary and e@Vidhya for upper primary are made available for all primary level students. “We would complete the development of digital resources for primary schools in Samagra resource portal, impart ICT training for all teachers and empower primary school IT co-ordinators before setting up the hi-tech labs,” Anvar Sadath added.
Equipment procured for the project would carry a five-year comprehensive warranty and insurance protection. A web-portal for complaint registration along with a call-centre facility would ensure timely complaint management.
