Kamat pushes for intranet use for online education

Margao: Leader of Opposition and former chief minister Digambar Kamat has reiterated that the intranet network could be the only way forward for online education in the state.

“Installation of mobile towers will not fully solve connectivity issues and will add to the financial burden on parents for smartphones. Intranet has reached every panchayat in Goa and local cable operators can take it to every household through television or computer. Goa Broadband Network is the only way forward for online and distance education in Goa,” said Kamat in a press statement issued on Tuesday.

He said that setting up of more mobile towers would not solve the issue of uninterrupted connectivity as there are other technical issues such as signal drops resulting in poor or no connectivity and frequent interruptions if one moves away from the tower.

“The optic fibre cable network is more reliable and can provide consistent connectivity. Goa is already equipped with the network from the pilot project gifted by former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh during my tenure as chief minister of Goa. The optimum use of the intranet will give employment opportunities to the local cable operators who are now facing problems due to DTH services. The online networking will reduce the burden on parents as well burden of buying high-end smartphones. It will be easy to monitor the activity if the video transmission is received on home television or computer sets,” said Kamat.