5 months ago
2
Hi-tech labs successful galore authorities precocious and higher secondary schools crossed Tamil Nadu are either partially functional oregon wholly non-functional owed to an lack of attraction and mediocre net access. As a result, students successful these schools person been incapable to usage the labs for machine classes, acquisition videos, online examinations, oregon vocation guidance sessions for the past year.
“The UPS is down, and determination is nary projector. Online tests cannot beryllium conducted arsenic the computers bash not tally without electricity. We person contacted the attraction service, but since their declaration ended successful April 2025, the computers successful the hi-tech labs person stopped functioning,” said a machine subject teacher from Tiruvallur district.
Officials successful the School Education Department noted that these labs were acceptable up successful 2019 arsenic portion of the archetypal signifier of the project, nether which 6,029 schools received hi-tech labs. At the time, the yearly attraction declaration was awarded to Larsen & Toubro for 5 years, which ended successful April 2025. Teachers said that whenever issues arose during this period, the indispensable services were carried retired without hindrance.
The declaration tender has not yet been closed, adjacent though the declaration play has ended, sources successful the section said, adding that this has prevented the issuance of a caller tender.
Students carnivore the brunt
As schools hole for the upcoming examinations, teachers are disquieted astir however students volition instrumentality portion successful applicable examinations oregon competitory exams conducted online. Every authorities precocious schoolhouse has a hi-tech laboratory with 10 computers, portion each authorities higher secondary schoolhouse has ones with 20 computers.
“While the computers are working, the UPS has not been serviced, which means that the infinitesimal the energy goes out, the computers unopen down,” said a teacher from Virudhunagar district.
Further, not galore online tests person been conducted for students this year, but for 4 exams. “Earlier, we utilized to person astatine slightest 1 rhythm of tests each 3 months connected computers. This gave students assurance successful navigating online exams specified arsenic the National Merit-cum-Means Scholarship introspection and different competitory exams,” added a teacher from Tiruvallur district.
Internet woes
About 8 km from Melur successful Madurai district, a authorities higher secondary schoolhouse has locked its hi-tech laboratory owed to the lack of an net connection. At the opening of the world year, the School Education Department had notified each schools to power to BSNL for net connectivity. However, successful villages located acold from towns, BSNL has been incapable to supply an net line. “Previously, a section cablegram relation provided america with net access, but aft the power to BSNL, the hi-tech labs person remained unopen for implicit a year,” said a machine subject teacher.
The Tamil Nadu Higher Secondary Computer Teacher Association (TNHSCTA) stated that the inverters successful the labs request to beryllium replaced. “Some method problems tin beryllium resolved. However, if the systems themselves request to beryllium replaced, it is hard astatine present. As students volition soon person to look applicable examinations, the non-functioning of hi-tech labs is simply a large contented that needs to beryllium addressed immediately,” said G. Murugan, wide caput of the TNHSCTA.
‘Upgradation successful phased manner’
Samagra Shiksha Project Director M. Aarthi said that the authorities was alert of the problems. “The School Education Minister has announced the upgradation of the already established hi-tech labs, which volition instrumentality spot successful a phased manner. We are identifying different schools that are facing internet-related issues. Discussions are nether mode with the Tamil Nadu FibreNet Corporation (TANFINET) to found net connectivity successful schools wherever BSNL cannot reach,” she said. She added that teachers could besides attack the territory coordinator for the programme for the attraction of hi-tech labs.
In the archetypal signifier of upgradation, 885 hi-tech labs, astatine a outgo of ₹56 crore, volition beryllium replaced. The procurement process for these labs has already begun, the authoritative added.
