Internet speed to be increased in govt schools across TN

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has decided to provide high-speed internet connections by increasing the bandwidth based on the existing infrastructure.

The government schools that were being upgraded with smart classrooms and hi-tech labs were given internet connection but it wasn’t fast enough to handle the lab requirements.

A senior official from the School Education Department said that high-tech labs were used for several purposes including conducting online assessment exams for students.

“Over 60 lakh students from classes 1 to 12 in about 45,000 government and government-aided schools will be benefited from the initiative,” he said. “Online training for students and teachers using videos and live streaming will also be given in the labs. “Setting up e-library for students is also being planned.”

Stating that Education Management Information System (EMIS), a common online platform to connect schools, teachers and students, has also been enhanced, he admitted that for online activities, the lack of high-speed internet in schools at present is a cause of concern.

“With the current internet set up in schools, teachers are finding it difficult to implement all the proposed development programmes. That’s why we’ve decided to increase the bandwidth,” he averred. “This will enable teachers to include more videos, photographs and text-based inputs in classrooms.”

According to the plan, the official said that the proposed bandwidth in the schools will have a minimum network uptime requirement of 99%. Uptime refers to the amount of time a network is fully operational.

The department will seek suggestions from IT professionals to come up with the most optimal means of installing the necessary bandwidth in schools, based on the existing infrastructure.