Lok Sabha Question No. 2331 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-08-01
Subject: Internet Connection in Government Schools
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2331 ANSWERED ON 01.08.2022

## Internet Connection in Government Schools

## 2331.  COL. RAJYAVARDHAN RATHORE:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a)  the  number  of  Government  schools  across  the  country  having  access  to  internet,  State-wise, particularly district level for Rajasthan;

- (b)  whether the Government has any plans to use the National Broadband Mission or the BSNL network to connect the Government schools that are yet to be connected with internet facilities and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government schools have an option to continue hybrid learning post the pandemic for students who have to travel from remote areas and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the Government is planning on using 5G data for such students from remote areas as it is a higher degree of wireless connectivity and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) whether the Government is collaborating with any private sector bodies for providing internet facilities and computer hardware as part of CSR activities, or via donations, or any other means and if so, the details thereof during the last five years?

## ANSWER

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

- (a): The State/UT wise details of Government schools having access to internet is at AnnexureI .  The  District-wise  details  of  Government  schools  having  access  to  internet  in  the  State  of Rajasthan is at Annexure-II.
- (b): Education  is  in  the  concurrent  list  &  majority  of  the  school  are  under  to  domain  of respective State & UT Governments. BSNL has come forward to provide FTTH (fibre to the home) connections to the Government Schools and based on the request of BSNL, an advisory has been issued  to  the  States/UTs  by  the  Ministry  to  sign  an  MoU  with  BSNL  for  securing  FTTH connections to Government Schools which have computing devices.

(c) & (d): In order to ensure that every student including those residing in rural and educationally backward districts of the country, gets continuous access to education, a multi-pronged approach has been adopted by the Dept. of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education.

A comprehensive  initiative  called  PM  e-Vidya  has  been  started  as  part  of  Atma  Nirbhar Bharat  Abhiyan  on  17th  May,  2020,  which  unifies  all  efforts  related  to  digital/  online  /  on-air education  to enable  multi-mode  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 NIOS website/ YouTube

Where  the  digital  facility  (mobile  device/DTH  television)  is  not  available,  Ministry  of Education has taken many initiatives like Community Radio Stations and a podcast called Shiksha Vani of CBSE, Textbooks, worksheet supplied to residence of learners, Handbook on 21 st Century Skills and community/mohalla classes are organized.  Innovation Funds of the Department are used to set up mobile school, virtual studios, virtual class rooms in schools. Continuous Learning Plan (CLP) for states/UTs has been initiated in all States/UTs, pre-loaded tablets in various states and UTs are effectively used in remote rural areas where online classes are difficult.

Further, an Alternate Academic Calendar has been prepared for learning solutions including self-assessment for grade 1 to 12 for both children with and without device. Bridge Course Modules have  also  been  developed  for  bridging  the  learning  gaps  of  Out  of  School  children  studying  in special  training  centres  (STC)  under  the  provisions  of  RTE  Act,  2009.  Also,  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  parent participation in Home- based learning during school closure and beyond have also been released in 2021.

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  and  Teacher  Education  Institutions  (TEIs),  subject  to  the  availability  of budgetary provision. As on date, ICT Labs are approved in 120614 schools and Smart classrooms are approved in 82120 schools. Total 1482565 TABs have been sanctioned to the teachers dealing primary classes.

(e): Vidyanjali  (https://vidyanjali.education.gov.in)  is  an  initiative  taken  by  the  Ministry  of Education, Government of India in 2021, with the aim to strengthen Schools through community and private sector involvement in schools across the country. This initiative would connect schools with  varied  volunteers  from  the  Indian  diaspora  namely,  young  professionals,  retired  teachers, retired  Government  officials,  retired  professionals,  NGOs,  Private  Sector  and  Public  Sector Companies, Corporate Institutions and many others. Through Vidyanjali volunteer can support and strengthen the government and government aided schools by offering voluntary servicers and also contributing  Assets/Material/Equipment.  18  requests  received  on  the  Vidyanjali  Portal  since inception pertaining to Digital Infrastructure have been fulfilled so far.

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  OF  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION  NO.  2331  ANSWERED  ON  01.08.2022  ASKED  BY  HON'BLE  MEMBER  OF PARLIAMENT COL. RAJYAVARDHAN RATHORE REGARDING INTERNET CONNECTION IN GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS

Statement showing State/UT-wise details of Government schools having access to internet

| S. No   | State/UT                    |   Number of Government Schools with Internet connection |
|---------|-----------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------|
| . 1     | Andaman &Nicobar Islands    |                                                      91 |
| 2       | Andhra Pradesh              |                                                    3987 |
| 3       | Arunachal Pradesh           |                                                     116 |
| 4       | Assam                       |                                                    2260 |
| 5       | Bihar                       |                                                    1664 |
| 6       | Chandigarh                  |                                                     121 |
| 7       | Chhattisgarh                |                                                    4116 |
| 8       | Daman &Diu and Dadra &Nagar |                                                     110 |
| 9       | Haveli Delhi                |                                                    2470 |
| 10      | Goa                         |                                                      70 |
| 11      | Gujarat                     |                                                   25301 |
| 12      | Haryana                     |                                                    3093 |
| 13      | Himachal Pradesh            |                                                    2186 |
| 14      | Jammu &Kashmir              |                                                    1237 |
| 15      | Jharkhand                   |                                                   10334 |
| 16      | Karnataka                   |                                                    3031 |
| 17      | Kerala                      |                                                    4378 |
| 18      | Ladakh                      |                                                     519 |
| 19      | Lakshadweep                 |                                                      42 |
| 20      | Madhya Pradesh              |                                                    4020 |
| 21      | Maharashtra                 |                                                    7770 |
| 22      | Manipur                     |                                                      82 |
| 23      | Meghalaya                   |                                                     104 |
| 24      | Mizoram                     |                                                     110 |
| 25      | Nagaland                    |                                                      70 |
| 26      | Odisha                      |                                                    1428 |
| 27      | Puducherry                  |                                                     400 |
| 28      | Punjab                      |                                                   19260 |
| 29      | Rajasthan                   |                                                   19255 |
| 30      | Sikkim                      |                                                     116 |
| 31      | Tamil Nadu                  |                                                    6767 |
| 32      | Telangana                   |                                                    2460 |
| 33      | Tripura                     |                                                     119 |
| 34      | Uttar Pradesh               |                                                    4062 |
| 35      | Uttarakhand                 |                                                    1046 |
| 36      | West Bengal                 |                                                    8550 |
|         | Total                       |                                                  140745 |

Source: UDISE 2020-21

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  OF  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION  NO.  2331  ANSWERED  ON  01.08.2022  ASKED  BY  HON'BLE  MEMBER  OF PARLIAMENT COL. RAJYAVARDHAN RATHORE REGARDING INTERNET CONNECTION IN GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS

Statement  showing  District-wise  details  of  Government  schools  having  access  to  internet  in  the State of Rajasthan

| S.No.   | District Name     |   Number of Government Schools having Internet connection |
|---------|-------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|
| 1       | AJMER             |                                                       667 |
| 2       | ALWAR             |                                                       982 |
| 3       | BANSWARA          |                                                       601 |
| 4       | BARAN             |                                                       230 |
| 5       | BARMER            |                                                      1208 |
| 6       | BHARATPUR         |                                                       488 |
| 7       | BHILWARA          |                                                       923 |
| 8       | BIKANER           |                                                       552 |
| 9       | BUNDI             |                                                       339 |
| 10      | CHITTAURGARH      |                                                       626 |
| 11      | CHURU             |                                                       535 |
| 12      | DAUSA             |                                                       361 |
| 13      | DHAULPUR          |                                                       309 |
| 14      | DUNGARPUR         |                                                       622 |
| 15      | GANGANAGAR        |                                                       653 |
| 16      | HANUMANGARH       |                                                       469 |
| 17      | JAIPUR            |                                                      1197 |
| 18      | JAISALMER         |                                                       415 |
| 19      | JALOR             |                                                       604 |
| 20      | JHALAWAR          |                                                       345 |
| 21      | JHUNJHUNU         |                                                       534 |
| 22      | JODHPUR           |                                                       899 |
| 23      | KARAULI           |                                                       409 |
| 24      | KOTA              |                                                       339 |
| 25      | NAGAUR            |                                                       946 |
| 26      | PALI              |                                                       628 |
| 27      | PRATAPGARH (RAJ.) |                                                       355 |
| 28      | RAJSAMAND         |                                                       514 |
| 29      | SAWAI MADHOPUR    |                                                       286 |
| 30      | SIKAR             |                                                       644 |
| 31      | SIROHI            |                                                       279 |
| 32      | TONK              |                                                       404 |
| 33      | UDAIPUR           |                                                       892 |
|         | Total             |                                                     19255 |

Source: UDISE 2020-21