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| Monday, Sep 15, 2008
Wiring up campuses
Electronic governance and real time data sharing raises productivity,
and educational institutions are keeping pace with the technology.
Students have a smart card that gives them access to all the facilities.
With private organisations and institutions slowly making a foray into e-governance,
the State-run universities in Coimbatore too are keeping pace. While many changes are
already in place on the academic side, administrative functions are becoming e-governed gradually.
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
The first to enter the scene was the Tamil Nadu Agricultural
University. According to vice-chancellor C. Ramasamy, e-governance
began in 2003. All communiques to be distributed to the 60 centres
of the university across the State have been made electronic.
The Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and extension centres in 385
blocks are also networked. These also include video-conferencing
facilities by which farmers can communicate with the farm scientists
or extension officers.
“All our offices are computerised. Only 25 per cent of the administration
is still on paper. These pertain only to signed orders. We are working towards
100 per cent e-governance,” says the vice-chancellor.
Students have a smart card that gives them access to all
the facilities. All communication between the university and students is through e-mail.
Human resource information about faculty and students has also been digitised. Biometric systems will soon be introduced.
On the academic front, TNAU is already into e-assignments,
online examinations, video streaming of lectures and total Wi-Fi facility.
Bharathiar University
Bharathiar University entered into the e-governance mode of
administration in August 2008. The local networking system set
up at Rs. 75 lakh links the whole university.
“The functioning of all the offices and departments of the university can be monitored by
the vice-chancellor and the registrar from their respective desks. All correspondence will be over e-mail. Students will also be able to use the Internet 24 hours with the help
of broadband connection through the exclusive university leased line,” according to vice-chancellor G. Thiruvasagam.
A Biometric Attendance System to be used by teaching and non-teaching
staff has also been installed. The everyday attendance will be taken care by the machine.
The university plans to install 45 such machines in all offices and departments of the university.
A video-conferencing facility that links the university to all its affiliated colleges
has also been installed. The colleges have been instructed by
the vice-chancellor to install a similar facility at Rs. 1.25 lakh in
their colleges to be connected with the university.
Anna University
Anna University, Coimbatore, and its affiliated colleges will
get broadband connectivity from the coming academic year.
According to vice-chancellor R. Radhakrishnan, the university will have 4 mbps connectivity in the campus,
to begin with. “All affiliated colleges will be linked with 2/4/8 mbps connectivity depending upon the strength in their colleges.”
The connectivity will include Virtual Private Network (VPN). The university
will primarily use it for three purposes — real time data transfer, video
conferencing and online examinations. Eventually,
other value additions such as online lectures, digital library and phone
facilities will follow. A biometric system will also be added.
“Once the university gets its own campus and infrastructure, a full-fledged connectivity system will
be put in place with all courses having online examinations, likely by 2010,” the vice-chancellor asserts.
Courtesy: The Hindu - Education Plus
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