High-speed broadband Internet access will be available in all high-tech schools in the State by October, General Education Minister V. Sivankutty has said.
He said that the Kerala Fiber Optic Network (KFON) had earlier said that the work for making Internet facility at 100 MBPS speed available to all the 4,752 secondary schools with fully high-tech classrooms will be completed by September 20. However, this schedule could not be met, and the KFON has now informed that it will be completed by October.
The Minister said that the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) was earlier providing Internet access as part of the high-tech school programme. The Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) has been funding this for the first five years in the secondary schools and for the first four years in the primary school level. A total amount of ₹10.2 crore was spent annually for this purpose.
With the State government implementing the KFON project, it was decided to provide free Internet access to schools through its network. As per this, the list of 13,957 schools, including secondary and primary schools, was submitted to KFON in July 2022. Mr. Sivankutty said that the government will take all necessary steps to ensure that all the high-tech schools will get broadband Internet access by October 30.
