The mainly rural state has an estimated 12,310 primary and secondary schools. There are another 931 higher secondary institutions. It also has plans to train a cadre of IT teachers. State officials have approached world IT leaders like Microsoft and Intel to organise training, says Kerala Education Minister P. J. Joseph. As many as 60,000 teachers would be trained to impart computer education to students.
Parents are pleased.
This is going to be a major step,'' says Molly George, who teaches in a local school. Every school, from the villages to cities, would have a computer centre that would be used by the students during school hours and the public after school hours. By 2010, all students and teachers of high schools and higher secondary schools will have easy access to computers and the Internet, claims the government. Computers and Internet should move to the centre stage from the periphery and become an integral tool of the learning process,'' it adds. Kochi, the state's commercial capital, is one of three landing points in India for international Internet submarine cables this year, which will make the city a major Internet hub.