6K govt middle schools to get high-tech computer labs

CHENNAI: More than 6,000 government middle schools in Tamil Nadu will soon have high-tech computer labs at a cost of Rs 500 crore as part of introducing computer subjects from Class 6. At present, high-tech labs are available only for Classes 11 and 12 in high and higher secondary government schools, who have Computer Science as a separate subject.

A senior official from the School Education Department said in the first phase, 1,784 government middle schools will have high-tech labs at a cost of Rs 114 crore and each school will have between 10 and 20 computer terminals along with lease line connectivity of one Mbps speed.

“Existing teachers will be trained by IT experts and new Computer teachers will be appointed through the Teachers Recruitment Board,” the official said. About 700 computer teachers are part of the government school faculty, who teach only at the higher-secondary level. The computers would be procured by Electronic Corporation of Tamil Nadu (Elcot), the government’s IT wing through the tender process. The first phase of installing computers will be completed between December and January 2022 and the second stage will begin from February.

“Once the high-tech labs are operational, usage of these labs will be monitored centrally with the help of a control room. These labs will also be utilised for delivery of digital content, digital assessments for students, and imparting capacity building for teachers across all schools,” another official pointed out. The Directorate of State Council of Education Research and Training (SCERT) and other IT experts in the industries will prepare Computer Science syllabus for students from Class 6-10.