Thiruvananthapuram: Confusion prevails over the parent department of the IT@School project (now Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education - KITE). Set up for meeting the information technology-related educational needs of school students in the state, the project has been facing a dilemma over its status ever since it was converted into a company.
Though the activities carried out by KITE cover subjects under the general education department, its chairman and managing director (CMD) is the higher education secretary. Ironically, KITE does not deal with matters related to the higher education department.
Still more strangely, the general education secretary has no place even among the board of directors of KITE, which carries out projects related to general education. All the teachers of KITE are under the general education department.
Teachers’ organisations have raised objections to making the higher education department the parent department of KITE. When IT@School was made KITE, a company, the government had given an assurance to the teachers that its constitution or work would not be affected and the makeover was to obtain funds under the KIIFB (Kerala infrastructure investment fund board). But the teachers now allege that the government changed the parent department of KITE without informing them.
Officials said that earlier, when the general education secretary also held the charge of higher education secretary, he was appointed the CMD of KITE. Later, another official was appointed as the general education secretary and the KITE CMD headed only the higher education department. According to rules, the CMD of a company can be changed only after informing the company registrar, for which a government order has to be issued.
KITE is at present in a strange situation whereby it is under the higher education department even though its activities are entirely related to general education. Teachers say that this creates a lot of confusion and also hampers smooth functioning of an organisation having tremendous potential. President of pro-Congress teachers’ body KPSTA P Harigovindan said that his organisation would oppose the move to separate KITE from the general education department tooth and nail.