Government vide GO No.2777/2016/G.Edn dated 26.08.2016 had earlier ordered constituting a Technical Committee under KITE (IT@School Project) including experts to examining and finalizing the IT requirements and also fixing the minimum specification, maximum price, after sale service conditions etc with respect to procurement and deployment of ICT hardware for schools and offices under General Education Department, using various government funds. Govt vide GO No.97/2018/G.Edn dated 06.01.2018 had published the guidelines for ICT procurement for schools and offices under General Education Department, on the basis of the price received through the national tender floated by Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE) as part of the Hi-Tech school project. Vide Circular No.CPMU-1/156/2018/PLGEA, the above guidelines was made applicable for MP/LAD schedules also. The price of Laptop was later revised vide GO (Rt.) No.2278/2019/G.Edn dated 12.06.2019.

Vide GO (Rt.) No.1327/2019/H.Edn dated 30.07.2019, the guidelines including the specification and 5 year warranty of ICT equipments was also made applicable for ICT procurements of Higher Education Department also. Vice Chairman and Executive Director of KITE vide letter No.KITE/2019/1515-6 (6) dated 24.08.2019 had informed the Government that the revised guidelines for ICT procurement based on the price details received through the national tender for Hi-Tech Lab for Primary schools project for the current year was approved by the Technical Committee of General Education Department in its meeting held on 24.08.2019 and had also requested to revise the Government Order by including the updated guidelines. Government has examined this matter and is pleased to approve the revised guidelines for procurement and deployment of ICT hardware to all schools and offices under General Education Department using Government funds, various funds using MP/MLA/Local Self Govt institutions including individual purchases as per the below listed conditions.

2.1.1. The procurement of Laptop, Projector, Screen, White Board, USB Speaker, Projector Mounting Kit and 42” LED Television using Govt funds shall adhere to the guidelines as given in Annexure, which details the minimum specification, maximum price to be levied and after sale service conditions.

2.1.2. The guidelines would be applicable to ICT procurements of all government offices and projects, MLA/MP/LSG institutions etc using government funds and individual purchases to schools.

2.1.3. 5 year warranty has to be ensured to all IT equipments deployed to schools and educational offices. No additional charges shall be levied towards installation, transportation etc in excess of the rates mentioned in the Annexure of this guideline.

2.2.1. ICT equipments required for a Hi-Tech classroom are Laptop, Ceiling mounted Multimedia Projector, Screen/ Painted Wall for Projection, USB Speaker and Broadband internet. Equipments which are not part of the guideline such as Interactive White Boards, Smart TV etc should not be deployed to schools due to their ineffective usage.

2.2.2. Desktops and 600 VA UPS need not be deployed to schools. Laptops are to be deployed considering its portability, power backup and power consumption factors. If there is a need for an equipment not included in the guideline, then its individual purchase should be limited within Rs.15,000 (Rupees Fifteen Thousand only) and if as a Project, the purchase has to be limited within Rs.50,000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand only) adhering to the Store Purchase Rules.

2.3.1. The distributors have to demonstrate the working of the equipments to the Head Master and the School IT Co-ordinator. Installation Date, Warranty Period and details of Service Centers/ Service technicians have to be recorded in all IT equipments. Also details such as the scheme through which the equipment was provided to the school, year and source of funds has to be available at the schools.

2.3.2. Those who are deploying the equipments have to make available to schools the Call Center and Web Portal address for registering the complaints.

2.3.3. The distributors have to attend the complaint within 2 working days and resolve the complaint within maximum 5 working days. Otherwise a penalty charge at the rate of Rs.100 per day (Rupees One Hundred only) would be levied from the distributor (Maximum of 10% of equipment cost).

2.3.4. Adhering to the guideline, the ICT equipments can be procured through M/s KELTRON, the Rate Contract Agency authorized by the State Government. In such cases, the field inspection process shall be as undertaken by KITE and CPRCS at the time of hardware procurement. In such conditions, KELTRON has to ensure a centralized quality check and the equipments have to be deployed to the respective schools. Later, there is no need for conducting a separate technical inspections in such cases. Since the rates received are through bulk purchase under specific conditions, the implementing agencies have to ensure the release of payment within maximum of two months from the date of installation.

2.4.1. Academic Contents such as Digital Contents, Digital Libraries etc have to be deployed to schools only after getting joint approval from SCERT and KITE. Software which are proprietary in nature or with license conditions should not be deployed to schools under any circumstances.

2.5.1. Institutions and schools under General Education Department, Public Sector Undertakings (TSPs), Projects which use Govt funds (MP/MLA/LSG) should not consider any IT Proposals which does not adhere to this guideline.

2.5.2. IT proposals for various schemes which adhere to the guideline need not require any further technical approval from Education Department.

2.5.3. Procurement of IT equipments for schools and educational offices, including Multi-Function Printer, using various schemes adhering to the conditions in the guidelines (minimum specification, maximum price and after sale service conditions) can also be undertaken through the CPRCS (cprcs.kerala.gov.in) of IT Department of Govt of Kerala.

2.6.1. KITE has to prepare an Online Stock Register for IT equipments in all schools and institutions under General Education Department and Director General of Education has to ensure that all institutions are updating the information in the register. KITE has to conduct a specific IT Infrastructure Audit every year to assess the present condition of all equipments and for requisite further action and the information has to be made available to Government.

2.7.1. The Cyber Safety Protocol released for schools have to be correctly followed. No activity involving the sharing of personal details of students or hosting in private servers has to be undertaken at school level. Department’s exclusive permission has to be obtained for any eGovernance application or Specific IT activities which have not been approved by General Education Department.