School authorities, teachers in Kerala upset over KFON’s decision on bills
As the row over a communication from KFON (Kerala Fibre Optic Network), the State government’s Internet service provider, to the General Education department asking schools
As the row over a communication from KFON (Kerala Fibre Optic Network), the State government’s Internet service provider, to the General Education department asking schools to bear service charges associated with KFON Internet connectivity continues, teachers’ organisations have criticised the decision. K-FON authorities had informed the General Education department by email that schools should intimate KFON if they want to retain the connection and pay the related service charges. Schools have not made payment for KFON connectivity bills till now, says the email. The Kerala School Teachers’ Association (KSTA) and the All Kerala School Teachers’ Union highlight that Internet services are needed in schools not only for academic but administrative work too.
The government should be paying the KFON bills of at least government schools. Digital resources used Classrooms in schools are mostly high-tech and use digital resources on the government’s Samagra portal such as videos, audios, puzzles for effective learning. Schools also use software and websites decided by the government to maintain student data, scholarships, eoffice, and teachers’ salaries. Moreover, Kerala has scored high on various school surveys and rankings owing to Internet connectivity in schools and the bridging of digital divide. All this will be impacted if free service in schools is discontinued, they argue. KFON argues its services are not provided free for any office. The service charges for schools are not a newly imposed financial liability, and from the inception of the project it has been stipulated that government and aided schools should bear the service charges.
Delays in remittance of the charges has led to accumulation of outstanding dues over the past two years. However, head teachers and Principals of schools contend that they are not aware of reasons behind KFON’s argument. What they do know is that free Internet service was to be provided to schools through KFON. In 6,000 schools KFON services are currently available in around 6,000 of the 15,000-plus schools in the State. In many schools, Internet connections have been provided but the service is not smooth. Where repeated complaints have not yielded results, other service providers are used to ensure Internet connectivity. At times, teachers use personal data connections to teach in class.
Some heads of institutions say it is cheaper to use other service providers than KFON. Also, KFON configuration has not been completed in some schools. Head teachers or Principals say they often end up paying for Internet connections because it is not always practical for local bodies to use their funds to pay the bills of schools. In some cases, the local bodies have not reimbursed the institution heads for the bills paid.
The BriefWire