Lok Sabha Question No. 145 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-11-25
Subject: Implementation of Digital Infrastructure in Schools in Rural Areas under NEP 2020
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Dr. Bhola Singh

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 145 ANSWERED ON 25/11/2024

## Implementation of Digital Infrastructure in Schools in Rural Areas under NEP 2020

145 Dr. Bhola Singh:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken steps to ensure implementation of digital infrastructure in schools across rural areas in the country under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020;
- (b)  if  so,  the  details  of  digital  resources  or  devices  provided  to  schools  in  underprivileged areas as part of NEP;
- (c) the budget allocated and utilized in this regard; and
- (d) the measures being taken by the Government to monitor and assess the effectiveness of digital learning programs?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

- (a) to (d): Education  is  in  the  concurrent  list  of  the  Constitution  and  majority  of  the schools  are  under  domain  of  respective  State  and  UT  Governments.  Samagra  Shiksha,  an overarching programme for the school education sector extending from pre-school to class XII, is running in the country including the rural areas. The vision of the scheme is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education in accordance with the National Education Policy 2020.

Under Samagra Shiksha, financial assistance is provided to States/UTs including rural areas inter-alia for various  ICT and Digital initiatives for setting up of ICT labs and smart classrooms  in  the  schools.  The  non-  recurring/recurring  grant  under  'ICT  and  Digital Initiatives' is available to the States and UTs for following two options:

- (i) 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.  States/UTs  have  flexibility  to  procure  hardware  such  as  tablets/ laptops/notebooks/ integrated teaching learning devices and open source operating system as well as Hardware, Software, training and resource support. This would include support for digital boards, smart classrooms, virtual classrooms and DTH channels on pro-rata basis for number of schools approved.

- (ii) 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.

## Financial Provisions:

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

From 2023-24, the scheme also offers step-wise funding based on school enrolment. (Strength < 100 : Rs. 2.5 Lakhs, Strength between 100 - 250 : Rs. 4.5 Lakhs, Strength between 250 - 700 : Rs. 6.4 Lakhs)

- Smart  Classrooms: The  non-recurring grant for  Smart Class rooms  (2 smart classrooms  per  school)  is  of  Rs.  2.40  lakh  and  the  recurring  grant  is  Rs.  38,000/(including E Content and Digital Resources, Charges for Electricity.

The details of funds allocated and utilized for ICT Labs and Smart Classrooms for the year 2023-24 is given below: -

(Rs. in Lakh)

| ICT Labs      | ICT Labs      | Smart Classrooms   | Smart Classrooms   |
|---------------|---------------|--------------------|--------------------|
| Fund Approved | Fund Utilized | Fund Approved      | Fund Utilized      |
| 55904.4       | 78672.62      | 53729.71           | 36947.14           |

For internet connectivity, an advisory has been issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of India to all the States and UTs to enter into an MoU/ Agreement with BSNL and provide FTTH Internet connection to all the Government Schools which have computing devices.  States/ UTs have been advised that the Internet Charges can be met from the following:

· For  ICT  Labs  /  Smart  Class  rooms  sanctioned  under  Samagra  Shiksha,  internet charges can be met from the recurring charges being released under Samagra Shiksha.

· For Schools in which Smart Classroom are not sanctioned under Samagra Shiksha and which  have  computing  devices,  internet  Charges  can  be  met  from  the  Management monitoring Evaluation and Research (MMER) funds being released under Samagra Shiksha or can be met from any other State/UT Government funds.

To  achieve  the  objectives  of  NEP  2020,  a  comprehensive  initiative  called  PM  eVIDYA  is  in  place  which  unifies  all  efforts  related  to  digital/online/on-air  education  to enable multi-mode access to education, with a target to benefit nearly 25 crore school going children across the country. The key components of this initiative are DIKSHA - the nation's digital  infrastructure,  200  PM  e-VIDYA  DTH  TV  Channels  to  provide  supplementary education in various Indian languages for classes 1-12, ePathshala initiative to disseminate Digital Books and eContents, eJaadui Pitara is a digital app to supplement and a complement to the physical Jaadui Pitara, a vertical on Virtual Labs created on DIKSHA platform where 280 Virtual Labs for Science and Mathematics for subjects Class 6 th to 12 th  have been made available.

The above digital initiatives of Department of School Education & Literacy especially 'ICT  and  Smart  Classroom  component'  provide  basic  infrastructure  to  the  students  and transform  the  classroom  into  tech-driven  class.  The  students  increase  engagement  with multimedia content and interactive activities, while availing wider range of resources. This fosters deeper understanding, collaboration, and digital literacy for students, enriching their overall educational experience.