Lok Sabha Question No. 4220 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-27
Subject: Steps for Improvement of Internet Accessibility in Government/Government Aided Schools
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Abdul Khaleque

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4220 ANSWERED ON 27/03/2023

## Steps for Improvement of Internet Accessibility in Government/Government Aided Schools

## 4220.    SHRI ABDUL KHALEQUE:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  directed  the  States  to  increase  the  usage  of  ICT  in  school education in Government and Government aided schools for imparting education in emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic under the NEP, 2020;
- (b) if so, the details of funds allocated, disbursed and funds utilized for the Financial Year 202122, State-wise;

(c) whether the Government has taken steps to improve the internet accessibility in Government and Government aided schools in States having poor internet connection such as Assam, Odisha and Bihar; and

- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRIMATI ANNPURNA DEVI)

(a) & (b): Education is in the concurrent list of the Constitution and majority of the schools are under domain of respective State and UT Government. Department of School Education and Literacy  has  launched  the  Samagra  Shiksha-  an  Integrated  Scheme  for  School  Education  from 2018-19.  It  envisages  the  'school'  as  a  continuum  from  pre-school,  primary,  upper  primary, secondary to Senior Secondary levels. It is an overarching programme for the school  education sector extending from pre-school to class XII and aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels of school education. Samagra Shiksha is implemented in partnership with all  the  States  and  UTs  and  financial  assistance  is  provided  to  all  States  and  UTs  for  various components including strengthening of ICT infrastructure in schools.

Under Samagra Shiksha, ICT component envisages covering all Government and Aided schools from classes VI to XII, subject to the availability of budgetary provision.

## A.         Options under ICT:

Option I:   Under this option schools which have not availed the ICT facility earlier can either opt for  ICT  or  smart  classrooms  as  per  their  requirement  and  need.  In  case  of  more  than  700 enrolment, an additional ICT lab can also be considered.

Option II: Under this option schools which have already availed the ICT facility earlier can avail smart classrooms/tablets as per the norms of the scheme.

## B.        Financial Provisions:

ICT Lab: Onetime non-recurring grant upto Rs 6.40 lakh per school and a recurring grant of upto Rs. 2.40 lakh per school per annum for a period of 5 years.

Smart Classrooms: Onetime Non-recurring grant of Rs. 2.40 lakh and the recurring grant of Rs. 0.38 lakh for a period of 5 years.

The State/UT wise details of Financial approval of ICT and Smart Classrooms for the year 2021-22 are at Annexure -I .

PRAGYATA guidelines were issued to the States/UTs to facilitate continued education through various modes. The guidelines inter-alia include situation where internet connectivity is not  available  or  available  with  very  less  bandwidth,  resources  are  shared  through  various platforms like television, radio etc. that do not depend on internet. Similarly, Students Learning Enhancement Guidelines were released in 2020 to support learning of children during COVID-19. Guidelines  for  development  of  e-content  for  children  with  special  needs  have  been  released. Guidelines  for  parent  participation  in  Home-  based  learning  during  school  closure  and  beyond have also been released in 2021.

(c) & (d): BSNL has informed that, the Department of Telecom has given responsibility to BSNL to improve the rural connectivity using Bharat Net Assets and BSNL is taking steps for further  extending  its  services  across  one  lakh  forty  thousand  plus  Gram  Panchayats  in  the country. On 11.07.2022, DoSEL has issued an advisory to all the States and UTs to enter into an MoU/ Agreement with  BSNL  and  provide  FTTH  Internet  connection  to  all  the  Govt.  Schools which have computing devices.

The State/UT-Wise details of Government schools which have internet connection are at Annexure-II.

****

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) AND (b) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4220 FOR REPLY ON 27 TH  MARCH, 2023 ASKED BY HON'BLE MP SHRI ABDUL  KHALEQUE  REGARDING  STEPS  FOR  IMPROVEMNET  OF  INTERNET  OF INTERNET ACCESSIBILITY IN GOVERNMENT/ GOVERNMENT AIDED SCHOOLS.

The State/UT-wise Financial approval of ICT and Smart Classrooms for the year 2021-22 is as under: -

(Rs. in Crore)

| State/UT                           | Financial Approval (2021-22)   | Financial Approval (2021-22)   |
|------------------------------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
|                                    | ICT Lab                        | Smart Class room*              |
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands        | 3.0                            | 0.0                            |
| Andhra Pradesh                     | 59.3                           | 26.9                           |
| Arunachal Pradesh                  | 5.6                            | 0.0                            |
| Assam                              | 155.0                          | 87.4                           |
| Bihar                              | 0.0                            | 65.7                           |
| Chandigarh                         | 0.3                            | 2.1                            |
| Chhattisgarh                       | 13.8                           | 70.9                           |
| Dadra and Nagar Haveli &Daman &Diu | 2.2                            | 2.0                            |
| Delhi                              | 0.0                            | 21.5                           |
| Goa                                | 0.2                            | 0.0                            |
| Gujarat                            | 0.0                            | 104.0                          |
| Haryana                            | 18.3                           | 29.0                           |
| Himachal Pradesh                   | 35.7                           | 39.2                           |
| Jammu and Kashmir                  | 51.8                           | 12.4                           |
| Jharkhand                          | 79.1                           | 12.5                           |
| Karnataka                          | 63.7                           | 0.0                            |
| Kerala                             | 0.0                            | 2.8                            |
| Ladakh                             | 2.1                            | 0.5                            |
| Lakshadweep                        | 0.3                            | 0.2                            |
| Madhya Pradesh                     | 28.2                           | 16.8                           |
| Maharashtra                        | 0.0                            | 21.3                           |
| Manipur                            | 10.0                           | 7.4                            |
| Meghalaya                          | 5.7                            | 0.0                            |
| Mizoram                            | 0.8                            | 4.8                            |
| Nagaland                           | 0.0                            | 2.7                            |
| Odisha                             | 43.4                           | 107.3                          |
| Puducherry                         | 1.1                            | 2.4                            |
| Punjab                             | 37.5                           | 68.9                           |
| Rajasthan                          | 38.1                           | 66.1                           |
| Sikkim                             | 8.9                            | 5.7                            |
| Tamil Nadu                         | 149.9                          | 20.8                           |
| Telangana                          | 39.1                           | 72.2                           |
| Tripura                            | 22.8                           | 6.0                            |
| Uttar Pradesh                      | 0.0                            | 13.0                           |
| Uttarakhand                        | 34.6                           | 17.0                           |
| West Bengal                        | 93.3                           | 0.0                            |
| Total                              | 1003.8                         | 909.6                          |

Source: PRABANDH

*Provision for Smart Classrooms introduced in Samagra Shiksha in 2020-21.

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (c) AND (d) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4220 FOR REPLY ON 27 TH  MARCH, 2023 ASKED BY HON'BLE MP SHRI ABDUL  KHALEQUE  REGARDING  STEPS  FOR  IMPROVEMNET  OF  INTERNET  OF INTERNET ACCESSIBILITY IN GOVERNMENT/ GOVERNMENT AIDED SCHOOLS.

The State/UT-wise details of Government and Government Aided schools which have internet connection are as follows:

| State/UT                           |   Total Govt. Schools | Total Govt. Aided School   |   Government Schools having Internet connections | Aided Schools having Internet connections   |
|------------------------------------|-----------------------|----------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|
| Andaman &Nicobar Islands           |                   342 | 2                          |                                              133 | 2                                           |
| Andhra Pradesh                     |                 45137 | 1542                       |                                            20313 | 756                                         |
| Arunachal Pradesh                  |                  2985 | 68                         |                                              458 | 38                                          |
| Assam                              |                 45490 | 3841                       |                                             4680 | 265                                         |
| Bihar                              |                 75558 | 742                        |                                             4421 | 65                                          |
| Chandigarh                         |                   123 | 7                          |                                              123 | 7                                           |
| Chhattisgarh                       |                 48743 | 417                        |                                            16469 | 153                                         |
| Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu |                   388 | 8                          |                                              194 | 8                                           |
| Delhi                              |                  2762 | 247                        |                                             2762 | 247                                         |
| Goa                                |                   814 | 557                        |                                              299 | 459                                         |
| Gujarat                            |                 34699 | 5590                       |                                            32681 | 4685                                        |
| Haryana                            |                 14562 | 16                         |                                             4345 | 14                                          |
| Himachal Pradesh                   |                 15380 |                            |                                             4175 |                                             |
| Jammu &Kashmir                     |                 23173 | 1                          |                                             5169 | 1                                           |
| Jharkhand                          |                 35840 | 1175                       |                                            12052 | 390                                         |
| Karnataka                          |                 49679 | 7110                       |                                             5308 | 3133                                        |
| Kerala                             |                  5010 | 7183                       |                                             4738 | 6938                                        |
| Ladakh                             |                   838 | 28                         |                                              342 | 13                                          |
| Lakshadweep                        |                    38 |                            |                                               37 |                                             |
| Madhya Pradesh                     |                 92695 | 740                        |                                            16469 | 254                                         |
| Maharashtra                        |                 65639 | 24037                      |                                            18540 | 16985                                       |
| Manipur                            |                  2889 | 583                        |                                              340 | 64                                          |
| Meghalaya                          |                  7783 | 4172                       |                                             1111 | 782                                         |
| Mizoram                            |                  2563 | 230                        |                                              153 | 31                                          |
| Nagaland                           |                  1960 |                            |                                              850 |                                             |
| Odisha                             |                 49072 | 5807                       |                                             3970 | 1012                                        |
| Puducherry                         |                   422 | 33                         |                                              422 | 31                                          |
| Punjab                             |                 19259 | 450                        |                                             9013 | 386                                         |
| Rajasthan                          |                 68948 |                            |                                            36889 |                                             |
| Sikkim                             |                   864 | 19                         |                                              231 | 8                                           |
| Tamil Nadu                         |                 37636 | 8323                       |                                             9292 | 3207                                        |
| Telangana                          |                 30023 | 700                        |                                             2772 | 188                                         |
| Tripura                            |                  4262 | 43                         |                                              682 | 14                                          |
| Uttar Pradesh                      |                137024 | 8113                       |                                            12074 | 3366                                        |
| Uttarakhand                        |                 16484 | 608                        |                                             2575 | 246                                         |
| West Bengal                        |                 83302 | 88                         |                                            12918 | 47                                          |
| India                              |               1022386 | 82480                      |                                           247000 | 43795                                       |

Source :UDISE+ 2021-22