Bhubaneswar: Following instructions of the Centre, the state government has asked all universities and colleges to make their campus digital by installing Wi-Fi facilities.
The Higher Education Department has asked the institutions to tie up with Reliance Jio Infocom or other telecom services providers (TSPs) or Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to avail the free Wi-Fi facility on the campuses. The authorities of these institutions have been asked to complete the entire process by February 15, official sources said here Thursday.
All the institutions have been asked to make their campuses Wi-Fi enabled by August 2018, the source said.
The main objective of converting higher educational institutions into digital campuses is to access educational content through Swayam platform.
As per the sources, there will be no financial implications on the institution on account of implementing the project. The service providers will offer a specific amount of data to users, exceeding which the users will have to pay the telecom service provider.
The broadband network of the TSP will be interconnected to the National Knowledge Network (NKN) to enable students to access e-learning resources, they said.
The colleges and universities, which were granted financial assistance from the state government in 2015 for free Wi-Fi facility, will continue to provide the service. If required further, they can also tie-up with the TSP, the source added.
The state government had sanctioned Rs 20 crore under the Smart Campus Scheme to provide WiFi facilities in six universities and 69 colleges in 2015.
PNN
