Schools intranet boots up

MORAY Council will become the first UK local authority to sign a private finance deal as part of the government?s National Grid for Learning IT program.

The Scottish authority is to strike a deal with ICL to equip the area?s schools with computers, networks and technology-based educational resources.

The National Grid for Learning is a government-driven initiative to create a high-speed national educational intranet to connect to every school in the UK by 2002.

It was launched last October, and has so far seen in excess of #100 million in government investment to fund local projects.

Neither Moray nor ICL would comment on the scope of the deal or its value, but the deal is thought to be worth ?over #10 million?.

The Moray deal is the first of a series of major projects in which local councils build up the hardware, networks, skills and applications to support the National Grid for Learning.

Councils have the option of applying directly to the Department of Education for funding, or using the private finance initiative scheme.

The latter, in which the supplier invests its own capital in the scheme and the purchaser pays back on a per transaction basis, offers councils greater access to capital.

Dudley Council, in the Midlands, is tendering a #60 million, 10-year scheme. ICL, in conjunction with cable telco TeleWest and educational software house Xemplar, is bidding against BT and Research Machines for the contract. The Dudley deal ? England?s first ? is to be awarded in December.

This week the government also made #3 million available to public libraries, spread over 21 different local councils, to assist with their connection to the Grid.

? Report by Dan Sabbagh.