Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan today said that the public education protection campaign in the State is the best example of the participatory development plan that Kerala is presenting to the world. The CM was speaking at an online function to announce the State as a fully digital state in the field of public education.
In his address, the Chief Minister said, “The world view is that the government is withdrawing from the public sector. It is at such a juncture that the Government of Kerala has intervened and made a big difference in the field of public education. This is a step towards the future of the world. Through this, general education in Kerala has risen to international standards. Great changes have taken place not only in the physical condition of these schools but also at the academic level. It benefits the vast majority of the poor in the country. This is an achievement of the State and will be of great benefit to future generations.”
Kerala has become the first fully digital state in the country in the field of public education with the completion of the Hi-Tech Classroom and Hi-Tech Lab projects in government schools in the state. About 41 lakh students in government schools will benefit from the state becoming fully digital in education.
3,74,274 digital devices to 16,027 schools from Classes 1 to 12 were distributed as part of the Smart Classroom project. In the first phase, 45,000 high-tech classrooms were set up in 4,752 high schools and higher secondary schools. A high-tech lab has been set up in 11,275 schools at the primary and upper primary levels. High-speed internet has been installed in 12,678 schools. The IT equipment in the schools comes with a five-year warranty and insurance coverage. 1,83,440 teachers were also trained as part of this project.
The high-tech classroom project was implemented as part of the campaign to protect the Public Education system in the State. The first phase of the work was initiated by Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE) in 2017 in LP and UP Schools. The project was funded by KIIFB. High-tech classrooms have also been set up with the local area development fund of MPs and MLAs, and local body funds. KITE has distributed two lakh laptops as part of the project and the use of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in these has resulted in a savings of Rs 3,000 crores.
“Although Rs 793.5 crores were allocated from KIIFB for the project, the work has been completed at a cost of Rs 595 crores. In order to complete the project in less time at a lower cost, the floor, ceiling, construction and electrification of the classrooms were completed with local participation. An amount of Rs. 135.5 crores were spent on this with the participation of public representatives, local authorities, teachers, parents, alumni and others interested in education”, the CM added.