Relay point in Arghakhanchi to connect
Kapilvastu's schools
OLE Nepal has connected all the schools that are part of the pilot program to one another.
The schools are also connected to the OLE Nepal central server in Kathmandu, creating an intranet connection between OLE Nepal and its partner schools.
Wherever possible, schools have also been connected to the Internet. However, this has depended largely on the pre-availability required infrastructure in the area.
In addition to connecting schools to each other and to OLE Nepal, internal networks have also been set up within the schools. Each school is equipped with a school server that contains E-Pustakalaya and the latest E-Paath updates.
The school server also works as the gateway between the school and the outside network. Each school server is connected to access points in each classroom with network cable. The students can use their laptops to access the server wirelessly through these access points in their respective classrooms.
The server is also connected to the radio that connects the school to the outside network. Once the network infrastructure is completed, the school servers can be updated remotely with new materials. The students can then access the servers at their schools to obtain new and updated materials.
Each school was given prior notice on how to wire the classrooms. OLE Nepal's team assisted in schools to complete the wiring, and set up access points in the classrooms so that students can connect to the school server wirelessly from their laptops. Each school was also provided with specially made laptop charging racks to be placed in each of the classrooms. The racks were designed to store and charge the laptops when not being used by the students. OLE Nepal paid special attention to safety precautions when designing the charging racks.
Charging rack at school in Kavre
The schools were required to install a 15 amp meter through Nepal Electricity Authority to minimize damage to school server and other equipment. A UPS was also placed at the schools to further minimize the ill-effects of power fluctuations, and a backup battery was added to provide electric power during power outages. The UPS and battery backup system were connected to the school server, access points and external radio, but not to the laptop charging racks. Charging the laptops from a battery source was considered impractical because that will require a number of large external batteries, and also because the laptops have their own batteries. With laptops running on their own batteries, and with the server and access points powered by the backup system, students can continue to use network and access school server even during power outages.
