Project Description
By: Sabin Bajgain, Sudip Ghimire, Sanu Guragain
Description
The territory Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) School Education Strategy 2016-2021 (the territory Strategy) supports a long-term change agenda to ensure that students have a stronger foundation in STEM and are inspired to take on more challenging STEM subjects. The territory Strategy acknowledges that significant effort is underway within all jurisdictions to lift student outcomes in STEM. The territory focus on STEM education aims to coordinate this effort better and target the key areas where collaborative action can provide fresh momentum to improve student participation and performance. Here we have identified the problems in the different parts of the NT Region and have given effective solutions, including proper data collection.
Main strategies identified:
Goal 1: Use Starlink to increase the efficiency of schools for connecting digitally.
Goal 2: To improve educational infrastructure (mobile network connectivity and coverage), provide training opportunities, attract skilled professionals, and foster innovation and entrepreneurship in remote areas and small economies.
Goal 3: Ensure students are inspired to take on more challenging STEM subjects.
Problems identified in NT regions.
• Lack of phone coverage data in different communities in different parts of NT.
• Data of mobile coverage 3G/4G in very remote parts of NT
• Community imbalance in NT (Middle school students) caused by insufficient digital exposure in rural parts of NT.
Solutions using Starlink as the digital partner for the government in schools and in communities:
Advantages of Starlink in rural areas in Darwin.
High-speed internet up to 150 Mbps is available even in the rural areas of Darwin as it is operated through satellite and no fiber optic cables.
More value for money in rural areas as the government has reduced the price to only AUD 199 for hardware.
For rural areas, the cost of Starlink is AUD 199.
The average installation price of Starlink is AUD 200, and you will also get a self-installation kit if it is possible to install by yourself.
The monthly internet charge of Starlink is AUD 139.
So, the average one-time cost is AU 499.
The calculation for NT schools
If we calculate the total number of schools and use Starlink as the internet service provider, then.
The total average cost estimation would be 269* AUD 499, which would be AUD 134,231 for the NT government to install in all schools.
• Government can also provide the installation of Starlink for various communities free of charge or at a reasonable price so that they can be digitally connected.
Disadvantages of Telstra/Optus
• Using fiber optic cables is not environmentally friendly and cannot be viable for all extreme parts of NT.
• Rural parts of NT regions except for Darwin region, Katherine, Alice Springs, and Jabiru have high-speed connectivity of 5G, but other regions only have 4G connectivity with outdoor antenna.
Please go through our overall descriptive report that we have provided through the link.