4000 schools in Tamil Nadu may lose internet over unpaid bills
CHENNAI: At a time when the state government is promoting smart classrooms and hi-tech labs across state schools, more than 3,700 high and higher secondary government schools may soon lose their internet connection as they haven’t been able to settle outstanding bills worth Rs 1.5 crore to BSNL.
A majority of these 3,700 government schools, which account for 50% of the total 6,223 high and higher secondary schools in TN, have not paid their internet bills for the last two to three months, mainly due to lack of funds.
A school education department circular sent to chief education officers of all districts said the hi-tech labs in these 3700 schools are equipped with Fibre to the Home (FTTH) connections under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme. BSNL, in a letter from its TN Telecom Circle, had warned of service suspension if dues aren’t paid by Saturday.
In May first week, the state government said it was partnering with BSNL to upgrade internet speeds in schools from 5-6 Mbps to 100 Mbps, addressing the growing need for faster connectivity. High-speed internet has already been installed in 5,907 out of 6,223 schools and the remaining would be covered by the end of that month, an official release said.
‘Schools with fewer students struggle to cover net costs’
A section of schools were allowed to individually engage other service providers since BSNL did not have a stronger presence in some areas.
Reliable internet is essential for the operation of hi-tech labs, which are being used to improve learning through multimedia. These labs also facilitate career guidance, language classes and mental health programmes for students.
Headmasters said the government previously provided internet connections through a private player at a speed of 3 to 5 Mbps. Schools were sanctioned around Rs 20,000 per year for this.
Currently, the department allocates Rs 1,500 per month towards charges. The amount is released, however, only once in three to six months.
“Many headmasters pay the bills either from their pocket or from the maintenance grant provided to schools and get it reimbursed once funds for internet are released. However, schools with lower student strength struggle to cover the costs as their maintenance grants are minimal,” said a headmaster from Dharmapuri.
Headmasters have urged the department to directly pay electricity and internet bills to the service providers in a centralised manner to ease the financial burden on schools and avoid issues of payment delays.
Officials from the school education department said that the funds for internet charges for schools have been released till August for high schools and till September for higher secondary schools.
“There might be hiccups in release of funds from the district office to the schools. We have called for a meeting of CEOs to address this. We have also asked the internet operators not to suspend the service,” said an official. When asked if the bills could be directly settled to the operators by the department, the official said that while BSNL has provided the service in most schools, some have also opted for other operators. “We will discuss and take a decision on how to prevent the issue in the future”, he added.