After imparting training to school teachers about the use and the inclusion of the fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) textbooks, the Kerala government is now planning to develop a state-owned AI engine for schools.

State General Education Minister V Sivankutty on Saturday announced that an AI engine will be developed this year, under the leadership of Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE), within the academic framework, an official statement said.

The minister was speaking after inaugurating the State Camp of Little KITEs at the International Centre for Free and Open Source Software (ICFOSS) campus here.

The minister also announced that KITE, the technology arm of the state General Education Department, had completed the distribution of 29,000 robotic kits in schools.

The Open Hardware Robotic Kits, which are deployed to schools by the KITE, comprise of Arduino Uno Rev3, LEDs, SG90 Mini Servo Motor, LDR Light Sensor Module, IR Sensor Module, Active Buzzer Module, Push Button, Bread Board, Jumper wires and Resistors.

Sivankutty also highlighted that instead of isolated success stories, more companies should adopt the example of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL), Qburst Technologies and Canara Bank, who have contributed from their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds to make robotic education accessible to all school children in Kerala.

The minister stated that critical facts such as issues arising from excessive use of digital devices by children and combating fake news have been included in the ICT textbooks in the school syllabus and it should be addressed more effectively.

The statement said Kadakampally Surendran, MLA, Anvar Sadath, CEO of KITE, and Sunil T T, Director of ICFOSS, also spoke during the inaugural session.

The two-day event also features interactive sessions with Prahlad Vadakkepat from the University of Singapore, Achuthsankar S Nair from the Department of Computational Biology and Bioinformatics at the University of Kerala, and other experts.

Last year, Kerala provided hands-on AI training for thousands of teachers in state-run schools, which was a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country. Officials said it was envisaged to provide them with the necessary AI expertise.