The School Education Department, Tamil Nadu (TN) is preparing to turn primary and middle government schools into smart classrooms. When primary and middle government schools reopen for the new academic year in June 2024, classrooms will have been digitally transformed, making them more fun and engaging through audiovisual learning materials.
According to The New Indian Express report, the Tamil Nadu school education department plans to spend Rs 700 crore over the next few months to install smart classrooms in 25,000 primary schools and hi-tech labs in 7,904 middle schools. As per officials, all primary schools, including those run by other departments, will be transformed into smart classrooms with interactive display panels, cameras, and essential facilities, while hi-tech labs will each have ten computers.
Reportedly, the Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation has started the tendering process for the project, which will include five years of operation and maintenance. “While we have hi-tech labs in high and higher secondary schools already, we have encountered challenges in maintaining the facilities. To tackle this, we have included operation and maintenance as part of the tender for the first five years,” a senior official from the Tamil Nadu School Education Department said, as quoted by The New Indian Express.
Sources reveal that the government allocated Rs 275 crore in the budget to introduce smart classrooms and hi-tech labs in phases, but they are now being implemented all at once to ensure uniform learning.
Elementary education director, S Kannappan, reportedly stated that all primary and middle school teachers, about 75,000 of them, will also get tablets. This will allow teachers to share materials and access department-provided content from the comfort of their own homes to prepare for upcoming classes, reports add.
To streamline the delivery of instructional materials to these schools, the department also intends to establish central command centres. At the department’s call centre, a help desk will also be established to handle any maintenance-related inquiries. There will also be training for primary and middle school teachers on how to use the facilities.
An administrator or teacher will also be assigned for maintenance, given the dearth of personnel in middle schools to oversee the hi-tech labs.
To support the digital transformation, Samagra Shiksha, an integrated school education programme, has already requested that primary and middle schools set up broadband connections with a minimum speed of 30 Mbps and a maximum monthly cost of Rs 1,500.
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