THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Regarding the payment of bills to KFON over the internet connectivity to schools, the general education department will soon release a clarifying order on the issue. With a total of 6,000 schools both government and aided currently availing KFON internet connectivity, the discontinuation of its free service has taken up a political dimension with Kerala School Teachers Association (KSTA) criticising the move.
While the government schools have been asked to pay the bills from the current academic year through funds from the government or local bodies concerned, in aided schools, managements will have to pay.
On July 6, an order was issued to all DDEs that the schools must clarify if they wished to continue the KFON internet connectivity, stating that KFON does not provide free connections to schools. The order also said that the agency has asked for the annual renewal of the connections.
Meanwhile, the issue has stirred up a row, with the CPM’s teachers’ association KSTA commenting it as a reflection of the government’s attitude towards the education sector.