Lok Sabha Question No. 2978 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-21
Subject: Internet Access to Students in Maharashtra
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Vinayak Bhaurao Raut

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2978 TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.03.2022

## Internet Access to Students in Maharashtra

## †2978.   SHRI VINAYAK RAUT:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  decided  to  provide  free  internet  access  for  online education to students of the country especially to economically backward students of Maharashtra;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  whether  any  discussion  has  been  held  by  the  Union Government with State Governments in this regard;
- (c) whether  the  Government  have  contemplated  to  provide  financial  assistance  to  the State Governments to impart digital education to students of the country especially to the student living below the poverty line in the State of Maharashtra;
- (d) if so, the details thereof;
- (e) whether the Government have received any request for financial assistance provision from  any  State  Government  to  impart  digital  education  in  the  wake  of  existing pandemic; and
- (f) if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto?

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

(a) & (b): As  per  UDISE+  2019-20,  State/UT-wise  number  and  percentage  of  schools with Internet connection/ facilities, including Maharashtra are at Annexure-I .

Under the BharatNet programme, the CSC e-Governance Services India Ltd (CSCSPV)  of  MeitY  has  been  assigned  the  task  of  providing  Fibre  to  the  Home  (FTTH) connectivity to the Government Institutions, including schools.

(c) to (f): School  Education  is  in  the  Concurrent  List  of  the  Constitution  and  the  state governments have been advised to act based on the situation prevailing at every place to meet  the  demands  of  all  students  for  ensuring  continuity  of  education  in  the  wake  of  the pandemic.

Under  the  Integrated  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  of  Samagra  Shiksha,  funds  are provided to the States & UTs for setting up ICT labs and Smart Classrooms in schools, as per appraisal of the proposals received from the States/UTs in their Annual Work Plan, as per  norms  of  the  scheme.  State/UT-wise  approval  of  ICT  and  Smart  Classrooms  under Samagra Shiksha are at Annexure-II . During the pandemic, the Ministry of Education has taken various steps for providing continued access to education, which are available to each category of students irrespective of their region or economic standard. A comprehensive initiative called PM e-Vidya has been started which aims to unify all efforts related to digital/online/on-air education to enable multimode access to education. The initiative includes all forms of digital modes to provide wide access- DIKSHA (online), SWAYAM (online), SWAYAM PRABHA (TV), other TV Channels including use of Doordarshan and AIR Networks. Where the digital  facility  (mobile  device/DTH  television)  is  not  available,  Ministry  of Education has taken 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.  Innovation Funds under Samagra Shiksha are used to set up mobile school, virtual studios, virtual class rooms in schools, Continuous Learning Plan (CLP) for States/UTs, pre-loaded tablets in various States and UTs 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  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.

******

## ANNEXURE-I

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  AND  (b)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  2978  TO  BE  ANSWERED  ON  21.03.2022  ASKED  BY HON'BLE MP SHRI VINAYAK RAUT REGARDING INTERNET ACCESS TO STUDENTS IN MAHARASHTRA

## Statement showing State/UT-wise, number and percentage of schools, with Internet connection/ facilities

| Sl. No.   | State/ UT                 |   No. of Schools with Internet Connection |   Percentage of Schools with Internet Connection |
|-----------|---------------------------|-------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|
| 1.        | Andaman & Nicobar Islands |                                       113 |                                            27.03 |
| 2.        | Andhra Pradesh            |                                     14514 |                                            22.74 |
| 3.        | Arunachal Pradesh         |                                       307 |                                             8.37 |
| 4.        | Assam                     |                                      3836 |                                             5.82 |
| 5.        | Bihar                     |                                      7671 |                                             8.5  |
| 6.        | Chandigarh                |                                       223 |                                            97.38 |
| 7.        | Chhattisgarh              |                                      4891 |                                             8.69 |
| 8.        | Dadra & Nagar Haveli      |                                        86 |                                            24.86 |
| 9.        | Daman & Diu               |                                       102 |                                            74.45 |
| 10.       | Delhi                     |                                      4858 |                                            85.69 |
| 11.       | Goa                       |                                       575 |                                            38.8  |
| 12.       | Gujarat                   |                                     38658 |                                            70.76 |
| 13.       | Haryana                   |                                     10172 |                                            42.92 |
| 14.       | Himachal Pradesh          |                                      4146 |                                            22.8  |
| 15.       | Jammu & Kashmir           |                                      3460 |                                            11.99 |
| 16.       | Jharkhand                 |                                     15001 |                                            32.9  |
| 17.       | Karnataka                 |                                     19020 |                                            24.65 |
| 18.       | Kerala                    |                                     14638 |                                            87.84 |
| 19.       | Ladakh                    |                                        57 |                                             5.41 |
| 20.       | Lakshadweep               |                                        42 |                                            93.33 |
| 21.       | Madhya Pradesh            |                                     18805 |                                            14.1  |
| 22.       | Maharashtra               |                                     39014 |                                            35.39 |
| 23.       | Manipur                   |                                       719 |                                            15.42 |
| 24.       | Meghalaya                 |                                       572 |                                             3.88 |
| 25.       | Mizoram                   |                                       282 |                                             7.19 |
| 26.       | Nagaland                  |                                       434 |                                            15.74 |
| 27.       | Odisha                    |                                      4328 |                                             6.46 |
| 28.       | Puducherry                |                                       484 |                                            65.32 |
| 29.       | Punjab                    |                                     14087 |                                            48.96 |
| 30.       | Rajasthan                 |                                     38561 |                                            36.3  |
| 31.       | Sikkim                    |                                       247 |                                            19.34 |
| 32.       | Tamil Nadu                |                                     18819 |                                            31.95 |
| 33.       | Telangana                 |                                      8859 |                                            20.81 |
| 34.       | Tripura                   |                                       190 |                                             3.85 |
| 35.       | Uttar Pradesh             |                                     34638 |                                            13.62 |
| 36.       | Uttarakhand               |                                      3883 |                                            16.67 |
| 37.       | West Bengal               |                                      9590 |                                            10.02 |
|           | Total                     |                                    335882 |                                            22.28 |

Source: UDISE+ 2019-20

## ANNEXURE-II

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (c)  TO  (f)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  2978  TO  BE  ANSWERED  ON  21.03.2022  ASKED  BY HON'BLE MP SHRI VINAYAK RAUT REGARDING INTERNET ACCESS TO STUDENTS IN MAHARASHTRA

Statement showing State/UT-wise Approval and Expenditure of ICT and Smart Classrooms under Samagra Shiksha

(Rs. in Crore)

| Sl. No   | State/UT                             | Approval   | Approval   | Approval   | Approval          | Approval   | Approval          |
|----------|--------------------------------------|------------|------------|------------|-------------------|------------|-------------------|
|          |                                      | 2018-19    | 2019-20    | 2020-21    | 2020-21           | 2021-22    | 2021-22           |
|          |                                      | ICT Lab    | ICT Lab    | ICT Lab    | Smart Class room* | ICT Lab    | Smart Class room* |
| 1        | Andaman & Nicobar Islands            | 4.7        | 0.7        | 2.7        | 4.1               | 3.0        | 0.0               |
| 2        | Andhra Pradesh                       | 30.0       | 48.5       | 33.1       | 0.0               | 59.3       | 26.9              |
| 3        | Arunachal Pradesh                    | 2.3        | 2.1        | 4.4        | 0.0               | 5.6        | 0.0               |
| 4        | Assam                                | 18.1       | 40.5       | 71.0       | 0.0               | 155.0      | 87.4              |
| 5        | Bihar                                | 46.2       | 30.8       | 11.9       | 0.0               | 0.0        | 65.7              |
| 6        | Chandigarh                           | 1.0        | 0.5        | 0.7        | 0.0               | 0.3        | 2.1               |
| 7        | Chhattisgarh                         | 24.2       | 0.0        | 1.0        | 63.0              | 13.8       | 70.9              |
| 8        | Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli | 0.4        | 0.0        | 0.9        | 0.0               | 2.2        | 2.0               |
| 9        | Delhi                                | 1.4        | 0.0        | 10.0       | 0.9               | 0.0        | 21.5              |
| 10       | Goa                                  | 0.0        | 14.8       | 0.2        | 0.0               | 0.2        | 0.0               |
| 11       | Gujarat                              | 0.3        | 0.0        | 0.0        | 43.5              | 0.0        | 104.0             |
| 12       | Haryana                              | 32.0       | 22.8       | 0.0        | 36.5              | 18.3       | 29.0              |
| 13       | Himachal Pradesh                     | 59.3       | 0.0        | 55.6       | 0.0               | 35.7       | 39.2              |
| 14       | Jammu & Kashmir                      | 49.1       | 45.3       | 26.1       | 0.0               | 51.8       | 12.4              |
| 15       | Jharkhand                            | 51.0       | 24.4       | 73.1       | 0.0               | 79.1       | 12.5              |
| 16       | Karnataka                            | 15.1       | 50.8       | 76.2       | 0.0               | 63.7       | 0.0               |
| 17       | Kerala                               | 47.6       | 12.5       | 0.0        | 0.0               | 0.0        | 2.8               |
| 18       | Ladakh                               | 0.0        | 0.0        | 4.4        | 0.0               | 2.1        | 0.5               |
| 19       | Lakshadweep                          | 1.2        | 0.0        | 0.3        | 0.0               | 0.3        | 0.2               |
| 20       | Madhya Pradesh                       | 9.7        | 0.0        | 0.0        | 0.0               | 28.2       | 16.8              |
| 21       | Maharashtra                          | 110.7      | 154.9      | 35.0       | 0.0               | 0.0        | 21.3              |
| 22       | Manipur                              | 7.8        | 12.3       | 15.6       | 0.0               | 10.0       | 7.4               |
| 23       | Meghalaya                            | 0.0        | 2.8        | 12.4       | 0.0               | 5.7        | 0.0               |
| 24       | Mizoram                              | 0.9        | 0.0        | 3.3        | 0.0               | 0.8        | 4.8               |
| 25       | Nagaland                             | 0.9        | 0.5        | 0.0        | 11.4              | 0.0        | 2.7               |
| 26       | Odisha                               | 233.0      | 98.8       | 120.2      | 9.2               | 43.4       | 107.3             |
| 27       | Puducherry                           | 4.8        | 2.5        | 3.4        | 0.0               | 1.1        | 2.4               |
| 28       | Punjab                               | 6.6        | 0.0        | 12.5       | 0.0               | 37.5       | 68.9              |
| 29       | Rajasthan                            | 69.1       | 36.4       | 42.5       | 39.9              | 38.1       | 66.1              |
| 30       | Sikkim                               | 6.7        | 4.1        | 3.6        | 0.0               | 8.9        | 5.7               |
| 31       | Tamil Nadu                           | 0.0        | 104.3      | 54.3       | 0.0               | 149.9      | 20.8              |
| 32       | Telangana                            | 52.7       | 40.5       | 13.5       | 0.0               | 39.1       | 72.2              |
| 33       | Tripura                              | 0.0        | 5.7        | 4.5        | 0.0               | 22.8       | 6.0               |
| 34       | Uttar Pradesh                        | 37.4       | 1.1        | 0.0        | 50.4              | 0.0        | 13.0              |
| 35       | Uttarakhand                          | 0.0        | 1.3        | 12.0       | 27.4              | 34.6       | 17.0              |
|          | West Bengal                          | 0.0        | 0.0        | 8.0        | 0.0               | 93.3       | 47.2              |
| 36       | Total                                | 924.2      | 759.1      | 712.6      | 286.2             | 1003.8     | 956.8             |

Source: PRABANDH

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