Computer Lab Setup for Schools

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The three questions schools ask, answered with real numbers rather than ranges so wide they mean nothing.

Computer Lab Design

Room sizing, table dimensions, layout options, aisles and exits, 300 lux lighting, electrical load, UPS sizing, heat load and Cat6 cabling - the arithmetic behind a 60-seat lab, shown rather than asserted.

Design Guide

Computer Lab Setup Cost

Package-wise breakdown from a real 60-seat Bengaluru lab, indicative unit rates for every major line, cost by lab size, and how to compare quotations without getting caught.

Cost Guide

Computer Lab Furniture

Two-seat tables, stackable student chairs and teacher furniture - the full specification, the dimensions that actually matter, and why a 200 mm wider table can cost you seven workstations.

Lab Furniture

Where the Money Goes in a Computer Lab

From a 60-seat, 31-machine lab we designed and costed in Bengaluru in 2026 - a 25 by 30 foot room, about 70 square metres. Total, including 18 percent GST, was of the order of Rs. 42 to 43 lakh.

Package	Share of pre-tax cost	Indicative value
IT hardware - 31 desktops, monitors, peripherals, network printer	~56%	Rs. 19 - 20 lakh
Electrical & UPS - points, lighting, boards, protection, 6 kVA online UPS	~13%	Rs. 4.5 - 5 lakh
Furniture - 30 two-seat tables, 60 chairs, teacher furniture, storage	~12%	Rs. 4 - 4.5 lakh
Civil finishes - false ceiling, putty, two coats of emulsion	~5.5%	Rs. 1.9 - 2.1 lakh
Networking - 36 certified Cat6 drops, managed switch, UTM, access points, rack	~5%	Rs. 1.8 - 2 lakh
Air conditioning - 2 x 2.0 TR inverter splits with stabilisers	~4%	Rs. 1.4 - 1.5 lakh
Commissioning & services - survey, imaging, training, documentation	~2.4%	Rs. 0.8 - 0.9 lakh
Software & security - lab management, endpoint security, imaging and policy	~1.7%	Rs. 0.6 lakh

Indicative figures for planning, confirmed only on survey and current quotation. Electrical and civil rates were built from CPWD schedule rates with a provisional Bengaluru location adjustment; IT and furniture from dealer and street pricing converted to ex-GST and loaded for freight, installation and margin.

The computers were 56 percent. The room was the other 44. That is the number to take to your management committee, and it is the reason so many lab projects run short at the end. The full cost guide has the per-seat metrics, the unit rates and indicative totals for 20, 30, 40 and 60-seat labs.

What a Turnkey Lab Includes

Survey & Design

Measured survey, existing supply and spare capacity checked, table layout drawn to the actual furniture dimension, electrical and heat load calculated, occupancy and exits flagged.

Desktops & Peripherals

Mid-level school desktops with three-year onsite manufacturer warranty, 21.5 inch full-HD monitors, keyboards and mice, and a networked laser MFP for the lab.

Furniture

Two-seat computer tables with keyboard tray, CPU trolley, grommets and cable tray; stackable non-revolving student chairs; teacher table and chair; almirah and printer stand.

Power & Backup

One switched socket per machine on the UPS output, 16 A points for plant, distribution boards with MCB, RCCB and surge protection, dedicated earthing, and an online UPS sized to the lab.

Structured Cabling

Certified Cat6 drops in tray and casing, patch panels in a lockable wall rack, labelled to a documented scheme, with a permanent-link test pass report for every outlet.

Network Security

Managed switch with the student network on its own VLAN, UTM firewall with web filtering and application control, and centrally managed endpoint security across all machines.

Lighting, Ceiling & Cooling

False ceiling with recessed LED panels designed to 300 lux and low glare, emergency lighting and exit signage, inverter split air conditioning, fans and exhaust, and anti-glare blinds.

Commissioning & Training

Imaging and policy, lab management software deployment, point-to-point commissioning, as-built drawings, test packs, asset tags, and a day of training for the teacher and lab attendant.

Setting Up a School Computer Lab

The National Education Policy 2020 puts digital literacy and computational thinking among the core skills schools are expected to teach, and CBSE, ICSE and the state boards all now assume a working computer lab from the middle school upwards. That has turned the lab from a nice-to-have into a piece of infrastructure that has to be planned properly - and planned, in practice, means drawn and costed before anything is ordered.

Most lab projects that go wrong go wrong in the same three ways. The budget is built from a hardware quotation, so the room - power, backup, cabling, furniture, ceiling, cooling - arrives as an unfunded surprise at about 44 percent of the total. The furniture is specified without drawing the room, so tables that are 200 millimetres too wide quietly remove a quarter of the workstations. And the things that make the lab usable on day one - imaging, network policy, cable certification, documentation and training - are left out of the scope by every quotation because no one asked for them, and then have to be paid for again.

We work the other way round. A measured survey, then a layout drawn against the actual table dimension, then a load calculation, then a package-wise estimate that shows what each decision costs. You can hand that estimate to your management committee, split it onto GeM and a works order if you are a government or aided school, or issue it as a single composite tender - but either way nobody is surprised at the end. Start with the design guide if you are planning the room, or the cost guide if you are building the budget.

Computer Lab Setups We Deliver

School computer lab with desktop workstations on two-seat lab tables

New Lab, Turnkey

An empty classroom taken through ceiling, paint, wiring, cabling, cooling, furniture, machines and commissioning to a lab that works on the first day of term.

Design Guide

Students working at computers in a school classroom

Upgrade an Existing Lab

Survey of what is there, honest advice on what genuinely needs replacing, and a quotation limited to that. Usually far better value than starting again.

Cost Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

What does it cost to set up a school computer lab?

For a turnkey lab - the room as well as the machines - budget roughly Rs. 55,000 to Rs. 80,000 per seat including GST where two students share a machine. A 60-seat, 30-machine lab in a room of about 70 square metres therefore lands in the region of Rs. 38 to 48 lakh all in. If the room is already finished, wired and cooled and you need only computers, furniture and networking, expect roughly 70 to 75 percent of that. Our computer lab setup cost guide gives the full package-wise breakdown, indicative unit rates and figures for other lab sizes.

Why does a turnkey lab cost so much more than the computers?

Because the computers are only a little over half of it. On a 60-seat lab we designed and costed in Bengaluru in 2026, IT hardware came to about 56 percent of the pre-tax total. The other 44 percent was the room: electrical points and the online UPS, furniture, false ceiling and paint, structured cabling and network security, air conditioning, software, and the survey, imaging, commissioning, documentation and training that make it all work together. A school budgeting from a hardware quotation alone is typically short by close to half.

How many computers does a 60-student lab need?

Thirty student machines plus one for the teacher, on the standard Indian arrangement of two students per machine. That is what allows a 60-seat lab to fit into a 25 by 30 foot room. One machine per student is better pedagogically for senior computer science batches, but it roughly doubles the hardware cost, needs about half as much floor area again, and pushes the UPS, the electrical load and the cooling up with it. Settle this before anything else - it is the single largest cost driver in the project.

What size room do we need?

Allow 1.5 to 2.0 square metres per student for a comfortable lab. A 25 by 30 foot room - about 70 square metres - will take 60 seats at around 1.12 square metres each, which is tight and is only defensible because two students share each machine and each table position. For one machine per student, budget nearer 1.8 to 2.2 square metres each. Note also that a room holding more than fifty occupants normally needs a second exit under the National Building Code, which is worth flagging at survey rather than at inspection.

Can you upgrade our existing computer lab?

Yes, and it is usually far better value than building new, provided the room's electrical supply and ventilation can take the load. We survey what is there - machine condition, the state of the wiring and points, whether there is any backup, whether the cabling was ever tested, the furniture, the lighting - and quote only what genuinely needs replacing. Common findings are a lab running without proper backup, cabling that was never certified, no network isolation between the student machines and the school's administrative systems, and lighting that puts reflections straight into the screens.

What network security do you provide?

A managed switch so the student network sits on its own VLAN, isolated from the school's administrative network, and a unified threat management appliance providing web filtering and application control. CBSE has required content filtering and safe internet practice in school labs since its 2017 circular on the subject. We add centrally managed endpoint security across all machines, a standard locked-down image with USB and browser policy, and a lab management tool so the teacher can see and control student screens during class.

Do you provide training and documentation at handover?

Yes, and we treat it as part of the scope rather than a courtesy. Handover includes a day of training for the teacher and lab attendant covering the lab management software, the network filtering, the UPS and the maintenance log; as-built drawings and a cable schedule; the permanent-link test pack for every data outlet; earth resistance and lux readings; asset tags; equipment manuals; and sealed administrative credentials. If a quotation does not price these, they are not in its scope.

Do you supply labs outside Bengaluru?

Yes. We are based in Basavanagudi, Bengaluru and deliver and install across Karnataka, including Mysuru, Mangaluru, Hubli-Dharwad, Belagavi, Davangere, Shivamogga and Kalaburagi. For government and aided schools we can quote against GeM specifications for the IT hardware and as a works contract for the civil, electrical, furniture and networking packages, or as a single composite tender if you would rather have one party accountable end to end.

Ready to Set Up Your Computer Lab?

Send us the room dimensions and the number of seats. We will return a layout, a load calculation and a package-wise estimate - not a single lump sum.

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