Lok Sabha Question No. 1283 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-06
Subject: Children without Digital Devices
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Mohammad Jawed

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1283 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.12.2021

## Children without Digital Devices

1283. DR. MOHAMMAD JAWED:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has undertaken a national assessment of the number of children in the country who lack access to digital devices ;
- (b)  if  so,  the  number  of children  who lacked access to mobile devices and DTH television respectively during the pandemic in each State and UT (divided by gender) and if not, the reasons therefor ;
- (c)  the  strategies  are  being  followed  for  children  lacking  access  to  digital  gadget  (mobile device/ DTH television);
- (d) the Number of teachers trained on provided education in digital modes ;
- (e) the number of teachers able to extend academic support through home visits/online ;
- (f) whether the Government is preparing to undertake a national assessment to understand the impact on learning ability of the children due to continued school closures and discontinued education during the pandemic; and
- (g) whether the Government is undertaking specific steps to meet the learning gaps/discontinuity of education in context of new challenges?

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## ANSWER (SMT. ANNPURNA DEVI)

- (a) & (b) Education  being  in  the  concurrent  list  of  the  Constitution  and  majority  of  the schools, colleges and university are under the domain of respective State and UT Governments. 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. States/UTs were advised vide letter dated 01.02.2021 to conduct survey of children with access and without access to digital devices.
- (c) 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, and community/mohalla  classes  are  being  organized.  Innovation  Funds  of  Department  of  School Education  &  Literacy  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  under  Samagra  Shiksha  in  various  states  and  UTs  are  effectively  used  in remote/rural areas where online classes are difficult.

(d) & (e) In  view  of  the  COVID-19  challenges  and  in  order  to  provide  continuous professional development opportunities to the teachers at the elementary level, this Department launched the NISHTHA online training programme using DIKSHA platform in October 2020. NISHTHA online for elementary level covered 18 modules in 11 languages, including use of ICT in teaching-learning. Around 24 lakh teachers completed NISHTHA online training at elementary level  by  June,  2021.  Further,  NISHTHA  online  training  has  also  been  initiated  for  secondary teachers and teachers teaching at foundational level.  In majority of the States/UTs, teachers are providing academic support through home visits/online.

- (f) 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.
- (g) Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  Samagra  Shiksha  has  been  aligned  with  the  National Education  Policy  (NEP)  2020  in  order  to  ensure  inclusive  and  equitable,  quality  and  holistic school education. The major interventions, across all levels of school education, proposed under the  scheme  are:  (i)  Universal  Access  including  Infrastructure  Development  and  Retention;  (ii) Foundational  Literacy  and  Numeracy,  (iii)  Gender  and  Equity;  (iv)  Inclusive  Education;  (v) Quality and Innovation; (vi) Financial support for Teacher Salary;  (vii) Digital initiatives; (viii) RTE  Entitlements  including  uniforms,  textbooks  etc.;  (ix)  Support  for  ECCE;  (x)  Vocational Education;  (xi)  Sports  and  Physical  Education;  (xii)  Strengthening  of  Teacher  Education  and Training;(xiii)  Monitoring;  (xiv)  Programme  Management;  and  (xv)  National  Component. Samagra  Shiksha  also  has  a  clear  focus  on  bridging  and  eliminating  gender  differences  in enrolment, retention and quality of learning.

A National Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy called 'National Initiative for  Proficiency  in  Reading  with  Understanding  and  Numeracy  (NIPUN  Bharat)'  has  been launched by the Ministry of Education (MoE) on 5 th July  2021under the aegis of the centrally sponsored  scheme  of  Samagra  Shiksha  which  is  an  integrated  scheme  of  school  education covering from Pre-School to Senior Secondary level. The National Mission lays down priorities and actionable agendas for States/UTs to achieve the goal of proficiency in foundational literacy and numeracy for every child by grade 3. under the aegis of the centrally sponsored scheme of Samagra Shiksha which is an integrated scheme of school education covering from Pre-School to Senior Secondary level.

Bridge  Course  Modules have  been  developed  for  bridging  the  learning  gaps  of  Out  of School  Children  studying  in  Special  Training  Centers  (STC)  under  the  provision  of  RTE  Act, 2009.

A comprehensive initiative called PM eVIDYA has been initiated which unifies all efforts related to digital/online/on-air education to enable multi-mode access to education. The initiative includes, where work is in progress:

- 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

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