Lok Sabha Question No. 63 (STARRED), answered on 2022-02-07
Subject: Closure of Schools Due to COVID-19
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Dharmendra Kumar Kashyap

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO. 63 TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.02.2022

## Closure of Schools Due to COVID-19

## *63.   SHRI DHARMENDRA KASHYAP:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of assessment made to find out the number of children affected due to closure of schools in view of COVID-19 pandemic;
- (b) whether it is a fact that some States are also closing down Government schools in the name of rationalisation;
- (c) if so, the details of Government schools that have been closed down in the country during the last two years and the current year, year-wise and State/UT-wise, particularly in Uttar Pradesh; and
- (d) the manner in which the Government ensures that every student has access to online classes in each State/UT especially in Uttar Pradesh?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF EDUCATION (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

- (a) to (d) A Statement is laid on the table of the House.

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## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 63 FOR 07.02.2022 ASKED BY HON'BLE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT SHRI DHARMENDRA KASHYAP REGARDING 'CLOSURE OF SCHOOLS DUE TO COVID-19.'

- (a) Due to the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, schools in States and Union Territories (UT) were closed as a precautionary measure to protect the students. This has interrupted the learning of students  from  pre-  school  to  grade  12. During  the  pandemic,  Ministry  of  Education  has  held several  consultations  with  the  States  and  UTs  to  assess  the  various  aspects  of  the  COVID-19 pandemic. A sample survey was conducted in the month of July, 2020 for schools of   Kendriya Vidyalaya  Sangathan  (KVS),  and  Navodaya  Vidyalaya  Samiti  (NVS)  by  the  Department. Subsequently, further surveys were conducted in early 2021 regarding availability of various forms of  digital  devices  with  children.  NVS  has  reported  92.95%  and  KVS  has  more  than  98%  of students  having  full  or  partial  access  to  some  digital  device.  The  National  Achievement  Survey (NAS) was held on November 12, 2021 across India to assess the learning outcomes of students and schools across grades 3,5,8 and 10.
- (b)  &  (c)  Education  is  in  the  concurrent  list  of  the  Constitution  and  majority  of  the  schools  are under the domain of respective State and UT  Governments. The opening, closing and rationalization of schools are within the purview of State Governments and UT Administrations.
- (d) After  discussion  with  the  States  and  UTs,  a  multi-pronged  approach  has  been  adopted leveraging technology to reach the students. A comprehensive initiative called PM eVIDYA has been initiated which unifies all efforts  related  to  digital/online/on-air  education  to  enable  multimode access to education. The initiative includes, the following components:
- DIKSHA  the  nation's  digital  infrastructure  for  providing  quality  e-content  for  school education in states/UTs:  and QR coded Energized Textbooks for all grades (one nation, one digital platform)
- One earmarked Swayam Prabha TV channel per class from 1 to 12 (one class, one channel)
- Extensive use of Radio, Community radio and CBSE Podcast- Shiksha Vani
- Special  e-content  for  visually  and  hearing  impaired  developed  on  Digitally  Accessible Information System (DAISY) and in sign language on National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) website/ YouTube.

Further, Under Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha, which is an overarching scheme for school education covering all levels from pre-primary to senior secondary, financial assistance is  provided to the States and UTs including Uttar Pradesh for various activities for setting up of ICT  labs  and  smart  classrooms  in  schools  and  for  online  teacher  training  to  ensure  continuous professional development of teachers.

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